Jeff Raz explores the intersection of circus, theater and music from many different angles - as a clown, an actor, a teacher, a director and a playwright. His 35 year career has taken him from remote Alaskan villages to Broadway, across the continental United States and to Europe and Japan.

Jeff is the founder and director of the Clown Conservatory, the only comprehensive professional clown training program in the United States, now in its 10th year.

A graduate of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theater, Jeff has performed with Cirque du Soleil, The Pickle Circus, Vaudeville Nouveau and Make*A*Circus and in such theaters as Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Goodman Theater in Chicago, Marin Theater Company, The Kennedy Center, TheaterWorks of Palo Alto, The San Francisco and Marin Shakespeare Festivals and Lincoln Center Theater in New York.

In 2007, Jeff spent the year touring the U.S. as the lead character in Cirque du Soleil's "Corteo". In 2009, he reprised his role in Nagoya and Osaka, Japan and will continue to perform with the company from time to time.

Jeff's recent presentation to the Commonwealth Club is at http://fora.tv/2008/06/04/Jeff_Raz.
His interview on "Business with Passion" is at http://www.manygoodideas.com/2009/03/20/business-with-passion-jeff-raz.