THE SKELETON DANCE is a play for all ages about Death (Yay!) It is a highly physical, energetic, and light-hearted play with elements of creative movement, clown, and puppetry. It is created and performed by Emma James (they/she) and Ella MacDonald (she/her). It runs approximately 50 minutes, invites structured audience participation, and is always followed by a meet-and-greet or talk back.

In THE SKELETON DANCE, two young children, Emma and Ella, process the news that their Great Uncle Trout has suddenly passed away. They consider the implications of this in an entertaining, irreverent way, where the audience is privy to their many whimsical theories about death.

Despite the subject of death being widely perceived as inherently difficult subject matter, The Skeleton Dance is playful, light-hearted and irreverent. The children in the play do not feel social pressure to discuss death as a somber event and are not inhibited in sharing their opinions.

The goal of THE SKELETON DANCE is to provoke thought about the ways in which we respond to hardship and comfort one another. It guides audiences through grief through the lens of a child: all feelings are okay, there are no bad questions, and we must process through connection and play.

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