Jeff Raz
Guest Faculty — Applied Clown, Healthcare Clowning
Jeff Raz co-founded the Medical Clown Project with his wife, Dr. Sherry Sherman, in 2010. He has also performed nationally and internationally for decades, starring as an acrobat, juggler and clown in circuses including Cirque du Soleil and the Pickle Family Circus, and as an actor in theaters from Berkeley Rep to Broadway. Jeff’s three novels, The Circus Trilogy, and his recent non-fiction book An International Circus Affair, are inspired by his career. He is a graduate of Dell’Arte International, where he has also taught, and was the co-founder of Vaudeville Nouveau, the New Vaudeville Festival and The Clown Conservatory. In addition, he has directed dozens of circus, dance, puppet, and theater productions and worked globally as a communications consultant.
Before returning to Humboldt four and a half years ago, Julie spent eleven years in the Bay Area where she was on faculty at American Conservatory Theatre and St. Mary’s College as well as a teaching artist with a variety of Bay Area schools and companies from youth to adults. While in the Bay Area she performed with We Players, S.F. Shakes, Idiot String, Cutting Ball, Impact Theatre, Shotgun Players, as well as in clown cabarets and devised theater festivals. Julie was a healthcare clown with the Medical Clown Project for six and half years and currently sits on their board. She is a certified Michael Chekhov Technique instructor and is a graduate of SOMA studios (Minneapolis) Alexander Technique Teacher Training program. Julie is a 2010 alumna of Dell’Arte International’s MFA and holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Julie is committed to de-centering white privilege, cultivating belonging and solidarity through creative play, and is continuously honing her skills to be a thoughtful and adept co-conspirator in the movement for social justice.
