Created by Jennifer Ilse
​Directed & Choreographed by Jennifer Ilse
Developed with the team

Set - Paul Herwig
Music & Soundscape - Craig Harris
Lighting - Heidi Eckwall

Performed by: Karla Grotting, Raymond Terrill, Christine Magins, Michael Cohn, Erin Ditmarson, Becky Heist, Sher Demeter, Kathryn Andersom, Pat McManus, Sally Rousse, Katherine Sullivan, Cathy Oman, Katherine Griffis, Carla Murphy, Esther Ouray, Lisa Conlin, Delta Giordano, Jesse Neumann Peterson, Jennifer Ilse, Paul Herwig

Star Tribune REVIEW

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   Inspired by Co-Artistic Director Jennifer Ilse’s own personal experiences as an adult orphan, the show explores the universality of grief and death, and specifically the intense transition into this life stage which we all expect to reach when all of our parents have gone. Beast is a beautiful, ritualistic memorial, speaking to the intricacies of our family relationships, the complexities of grief, the voyage from guilt to gratitude, and finally to a freedom of the spirit.
   Off-Leash Area continues its tradition of partnering with specific communities related to its chosen themes to bring authenticity and truth to the creation of its Mainstage productions. “Dancing on the Belly of the Beast” will be performed by a cast of 20 local dancers, all of whom have lost their parents.