Jeff Raz

{{Short description|American clown}} '''Jeff Raz''' is an American [[clown]],<ref name=ebay>{{cite news|publisher=East Bay Express|url=http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/it-takes-a-clown/Content?oid=1066656|title=It Takes a Clown|author=Lisa Drostova|date=2001-12-19}}</ref> actor, teacher, and director. He founded and served as director of the [[Clown Conservatory]] in [[San Francisco, California]],<ref>{{cite news|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Caps-and-gowns-for-the-clowns-Final-exam-for-2610188.php|date=2003-06-13|title=Caps and gowns for the clowns:Final exam for S.F.'s Clown Conservatory based on kids' laughter|author=Sam McManis}}</ref> the country's only remaining professional clown training program from 2000 to 2010. As a performer he has had leading roles with Vaudeville Nouveau, Make*A*Circus, [[Pickle Family Circus]], and [[Cirque du Soleil]].

==Background== Raz grew up in [[Berkeley, California]], in the 1970s.<ref name=ebay/>

==Roles== A large man, Raz has a long running collaboration with five-foot-tall clown Diane Wasnak as "Pino and Razz".<ref name=ebay/> The pair performed, among other places, as leads in the Pickle Family Circus.<ref name=par/>

Raz toured in 2007 as the "Dead Clown", the lead in Cirque du Solei's production, [[Corteo]].<ref name=high>{{Cite news|publisher=Columbus Dispatch |title=Cirque du Soleil clown takes highflying role seriously |url=http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/weekender/stories/2007/05/24/9A_THEATER24_-_WKNDR.ART_ART_05-24-07_T22_376PNE6.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121171416/http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/weekender/stories/2007/05/24/9A_THEATER24_-_WKNDR.ART_ART_05-24-07_T22_376PNE6.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-21 |date=2007-05-24 |author=Michael Grossberg }}</ref> In 2009 he reprised this role in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka Japan http://www.jeffraz.com/

Raz is part of the [[new circus]] movement—circuses without animals. He is an admirer of [[Charlie Chaplin]], [[Wavy Gravy]], [[Bill Irwin]].

Raz performed in the [[Flying Karamazov Brothers]]' [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] production of ''[[The Comedy of Errors]]''.<ref name=par>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TagVnhLDW0C&q=%22pino+and+raz%22&pg=RA1-PA212|title=From the Greek mimes to Marcel Marceau and beyond|author=Annette Bercut Lust|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=2002|isbn=0-8108-4593-8}}</ref><ref name=high/>

In the summer of 2011, he played Aristophanes/Playwright in his play ''The Road to Hades'', performed by the Shotgun Players of Berkeley, California.<ref>''The Road to Hades'' play-bill</ref> He recently performed with California Revels.

==Other work== Raz has taught at the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College]] and the [[San Francisco School of Circus Arts]].<ref name=ebay/> He wrote solo plays ''Father-Land'', about a secular Jew's understanding of the [[Holocaust]], and ''Birth Mark'', about adoption.<ref name=ebay/> He has written two books ''The Secret Life of Clowns: A backstage tour of Cirque du Soleil and The Clown Conservatory'' and ''The Snow Clown: Cartwheels on Borders from Alaska to Nebraska.''

==Personal life== Raz describes himself as "very political".<ref name=ebay/> He is married to Sherry Sherman, a psychologist. The couple has two children, Micah, and Joshua.<ref name=high/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.secretlifeofclowns]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} - professional website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raz, Jeff}} [[Category:American clowns]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Male actors from Berkeley, California]]