About

Joyful Raven is an award-winning actor, director, and "story midwife" known for her powerful and thought-provoking solo shows. Born into an iconic political theater family, she has been creating theater for as long as she can remember. Her first solo comedy, Tales of a Sexual Tomboy, won Best of the Fringe at the 2016 San Francisco International Fringe Festival and had an Off-Broadway run in 2017. Her current show, Breed or Bust, recently completed a successful run at The Marsh in Berkeley and was named a 'Critics' Pick' by the San Francisco Chronicle after receiving critical acclaim at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was nominated for an Offie. The show was also nominated for Best Comedy at the 2022 Hollywood International Fringe Festival, receiving a Producer’s Encore Award and a Gold Medal from TV-olution. Raven has acted alongside big names such as Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, directed and mentored hundreds of storytellers, co-founded Rococo Risqué, and co-authored four plays for the Prize of Hope-winning company Human Nature. She holds an MFA from UC Davis and teaches solo theater and storytelling at the Berkeley Rep School of Theater and her Oakland studio.