James Rana is an award winning performer. He trained as a clown and juggler, beginning his career as a street performer. He received his MFA from Trinity Rep Conservatory. On Broadway, he was an original cast member of The Band’s Visit, winner of 10 Tony awards, including Best Musical. He spent two years in The Band’s Visit’s National Tour. His Off-Broadway, Regional, National and International credits include: The 1st National Tour of The Kite Runner, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Red Bull Theater, The Shakespeare Theater Co., The Kennedy Center, Lookingglass Theatre, Human Race Theater, Huntington Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Ensemble Studio Theater, Denver Center, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, Pan Asian Rep, Worth Street Theater, East Lynne Theater, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Shakespeare & Co., Actors Shakespeare Company, Germany’s Bonn Biennale and the Globe Neuss, Toronto’s David Mirvish Theatre, Luna Stage, Coney Island USA, and Comedysportz.

He starred in the award-winning short A Girl Like You with A Boy Like Me (Accolade Award). Other film and television appearances include guest-starring roles on “Law & Order:SVU,” “Madam Secretary,” “Chicago Fire,” “The 72nd Tony Awards,” “Third Watch,” “One Life To Live,”  The War Within, The Assassin, Swim Little Fish Swim, and sketch characters for “Conan O’Brien.”

He wrote, produced, and starred in the acclaimed award-winning short film Strays.

He wrote and narrated the radio documentaries Poe: A Celebration and P.T. Barnum: Man of the People for NPR.  He produced and hosted “Classically Absurd,” a four part original series, celebrating all that is funny in the world of classical music for HD Masterworks.

His stage adaptations of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Zorro, The Poe Mysteries, and Huck Finn all received their world premieres at the East Lynne Theater in Cape May, NJ.

James  works frequently as a narrator and voice-actor. He is a member of Actors Equity, SAG-AFTRA,  and The Players Club. For many years, he led the Coney Island U.S.A. Mermaid Parade as the stilt-walking Uncle Sam.