Squonk Teaching Artists Tony and Lindsay took their rhythm workshop to the wonderful Millvale Community Library on March 16. They led music and movement games showing how rhythm plays a part in each of our lives.
Announcing Brouhaha's May 2024 Tour Dates
It’s almost time to take Brouhaha back on the road. We’re kicking off our 2024 tour in May in Columbus, Ohio, at the COSI Science Festival. It’s our second time performing at this hands-on science extravaganza.
Next, we’ll travel to Greenville, South Carolina, for the 20th anniversary of Artisphere, a three-day arts festival.
We’ll continue on to Columbia, South Carolina, where we’ll return to the Koger Center for the Arts for two days of performances.
Then we’ll be in North Carolina for Artsplosure. This is our third time performing at Raleigh’s original and longest-running arts festival.
We hope you can Squonk with us in one of these cities!
Columbus, Ohio: May 4 at the COSI Science Festival
Greenville, South Carolina: May 10-12 at Artisphere
Columbia, South Carolina: May 15-16 at the Koger Center for the Arts
Raleigh, North Carolina: May 18-19 at Artsplosure
We're Hiring
Squonk is looking to hire a committed Touring Stage Technician/Performer. We have a full season ahead of us and are looking for someone to work every gig August through October for this year, with possible long-term opportunities as well.
We are a Pittsburgh-based ensemble that The New York Times has called "a multimedia troupe of infinite jest with an imagination to match." Our current show, Brouhaha, is entering its first full season of touring. Squonk has performed across the U.S. and internationally, from Rhode Island to Texas, Lincoln Center to The Kennedy Center, China to Canada! To see photos and videos of Brouhaha, visit our show page.
We offer professional wages plus we cover all travel expenses, including per diem, hotel, and airfare. Average out-of-town runouts are 3-7 days. Additional work can include driving our 26-foot box truck, with a fellow Squonker, to our destinations.
This position is a cross between a performer/puppeteer and a technician.
You will need to be comfortable in front of an audience, as you will march in an opening parade with a giant spinning eye...
…play the giant bellows….
…invite the audience to join you…
…make the large-scale eyes dance in the finale…
And there’s much to do backstage as well, like working the giant horns.
You can see all of the action in our videos on our Brouhaha page.
Having basic technical skills is a plus. Every crew member has responsibilities with loading and unloading the truck and building and tearing down the set. As you can imagine, the position takes a certain level of physical agility, strength, and fitness. The job is very high-energy and requires a lot of running around and, since all performances are outdoors, you must be comfortable working in the heat and humidity at times.
This person needs to be sharp enough to run their position and know their cues in the half-hour shows without a stage manager’s assistance. The ideal candidate will participate in all the gigs in August through October.
Please reach out to Company Manager Caroline Babik at caroline@squonkopera.org with your resume and what interests you about this position and working with Squonk.
Squonk in the Neighborhood: Etna, PA
On March 9, our bassist Tony and performing tech Lindsay took on new roles as Squonk Teaching Artists. They led their first workshop at the Etna Pop-Up Library. Participants immersed themselves in how rhythm plays a part in each of our lives. A big thanks to the Etna Community Organization for arranging the event!
New Brouhaha Video: Stomp Horns
In our latest video, the Squonkers use some fancy footwork to coax a tune out of some air horns and then throw down with some agitated tubas. Check it out!
Thanks to … Director of Photography / Producer Luke Geissbühler, Camera Operator Leo Gallagher, and Camera Assistant Max Geissbühler for capturing some great moments and also to Editor Drew Kaufman for pulling it all together and to Warren Pryde for the Audio Mix.
Fun and Wacky Times in Colorado Springs
We wrapped up our 2023 touring season by playing Brouhaha at two Halloween parties at the Colorado Spring’s Community Cultural Collective’s City Auditorium.
We enjoyed entertaining some “little monsters” and their families during the Monster Mash Bash. Then we joined the festivities for the Coroner’s Aud Ball, hosted by real-life coroner Dr. Leon Kelly. Kelly donned the persona of a mad scientist who has drawn all the historic ghosts to the City Auditorium in an experiment gone wrong. Wild and wacky times!
Squonk in the Neighborhood Reaches 15,000
This year, our Squonk in the Neighborhood program included the debut performance of Brouhaha as well as the final local performances of Hand to Hand. Our outreach also included hands-on STEAM workshops, backstage tours, and interactive play with our 25-foot inflatable hands. All right here in our hometown of Pittsburgh.
9 neighborhoods
8 community partners
24 events
15,000 kids and adults
Workshops and Events
Through our workshops and events, we reached the following Pittsburgh area neighborhoods:
Downtown
Garfield
Lawrenceville
New Kensington
North Shore
Sharpsburg
Vandergrift
Wilkingsburg
Wilmerding
We composed the music for Brouhaha in a studio at Westinghouse Arts Academy in Wilmerding, sharing our process with the students.
And we brought our giant purple hands to the neighborhood during Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Open Air event at the school.
We brought our mixed media workshop to a camp for self-identifying girls, as well as trans and non-binary people, in 4th-8th grades through our continuing relationship with Assemble in Garfield.
Squonk's ongoing partnerships with Wilkinsburg organizations expanded to include the wonderful kids at the out-of-school program at Ethnan Temple Church, a relationship we hope to develop into the future.
Brouhaha
For Brouhaha, our collaborative process benefited from the addition of new BIPOC and non-binary voices, and we were thrilled to employ dozens of Pittsburgh artists, technicians, and musicians in the adventure that is DIY ensemble creation. Deep in an abandoned Alcoa test mill with 35-foot ceilings, we started building everything for the new production from scratch. And after working with our team for most of a year, we invited the public to come see our messy, joyous process. It was a festive and noisy Brouhaha!
We also took up the challenge to unite diverse citizens into communities of the imagination by inviting them to play music with us on the Squonkcordion, our giant foghorn organ. Many voices, one song!
Brouhaha is even more immersive and participatory, so we had new free programming to offer our many local community partners.
Brouhaha debuted over Labor Day weekend at Acrisure Field Kickoff and Rib Festival with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Through this new show, we will continue to break down cultural, economic, and geographic barriers by delivering free engagements that welcome children and non-traditional arts audiences and create a vibrant public life.
"Brouhaha" in Colorado Springs
We’ll be taking Brouhaha to Colorado Springs, CO, for some Halloween fun! We’re performing as part of the family-friendly Monster Mash Bash on October 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. Then on October 28, we’ll be joining the Coroner’s Aud Ball Halloween Party from 6 p.m. to midnight. The event is for all the “freaky, funny, weird fanatics” in the Springs, so we should fit right in!
Photos! "Brouhaha" Premieres at ArtPrize
We were thrilled to premiere Brouhaha at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We were part of their grand opening celebration on September 14 and then performed multiple times September 15-17.
ArtPrize is an open, international art competition that takes place for 18 days in the fall in Grand Rapids. It was an honor to help them celebrate so many artists!
Our Pittsburgh Preview of "Brouhaha"
We had a blast previewing Brouhaha at the Kick-Off and Rib Festival in Pittsburgh over Labor Day Weekend. Thanks to everyone who came up to play the Squonkcordion! It was a thrill to make music together with our audience. We head to ArtPrize next.
"Brouhaha" Premieres at ArtPrize
We are thrilled to premiere Brouhaha at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We’re especially excited to be a part of their joyously boisterous and gloriously vibrant opening celebration on September 14. Our performance schedule is:
September 14 at 6:30 p.m.
September 15 at noon and 4 p.m.
September 16 at noon and 4 p.m.
September 17 at noon and 4 p.m.
ArtPrize is an open, international art competition that takes place for 18 days in the fall in Grand Rapids. At each event, the voting public and a panel of jurors decide the winners of $400,000 in prizes, including a $125,000 grand prize. Any artist working in any medium from anywhere in the world can participate. Learn more on the ArtPrize website.
"Brouhaha" Previews at Pittsburgh's Kickoff and Rib Festival on Sept. 3-4
Our hometown of Pittsburgh will have the first chance to preview our new show: Brouhaha!
Brouhaha will preview at The Kickoff and Rib Festival at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on September 3-4. Performances are September 3 at 4 and 7 p.m. and September 4 at 1:30 and 5:15 p.m. We will be set up near the intersection of Art Rooney Avenue and Reedsdale Street.
The Kickoff and Rib Festival started in 1990 at Three Rivers Stadium and draws tens of thousands of fans. The 2023 event is free to the public and will take place August 30-September 4, 2023. For a full schedule of events, visit the festival website.
Our New Show: Brouhaha
We’re thrilled to announce the name of our new show! Brouhaha is an immersive outdoor spectacle bursting with rollicking music, dazzling imagery, and the thrill of audience participation.
At the center of this riotous romp is the Squonkcordion, an enormous musical instrument powered by behemoth bellows topped with towering tuba bells. At the peak of the performance, we invite the audience to play this foghorn organ, welcoming them to experience the joy of a brass band and the fireworks of community. The show ends with a 30-foot head made of brilliantly colored banners, comically blinking its eyes and shooting smoke out of its ears.
Throughout this visual extravaganza, we add driving rhythms, vibrant keyboards, wild winds, and hypnotic guitar riffs to the Squonkcordion’s rich and brassy sound. A raucous fusion of styles, our music ranges from propulsive and exhilarating to celebratory and majestic.
We’ve been spending the summer rehearsing and building the show, and we’re excited to announce performances for this fall:
Brouhaha will preview at The Kickoff and Rib Festival at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on September 3-4.
The show will have its premiere performances at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI, on September 14-17.
Additional performances will take place September 26 at the Westinghouse Arts Academy as part of RAD Days in Wilmerding, PA, and on October 27-28 in Colorado Spring, CO, thanks to the Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective at City Auditorium.
We’ve also launched a Kickstarter project to support building Brouhaha. The project closes August 25. We hope you’ll consider donating or sharing on social! Join the Brouhaha!
Celebrating the 4th in Sandusky
We wrapped up our 2023 Hand to Hand tour on July 4th in Sandusky, Ohio. Here’s a photo of us right before we hit the stage.
The next few months will be filled with building and rehearsing our new show, premiering this fall.
Squonk in the Neighborhood
Big weekend for our hands! On Saturday, June 24, we took them to Wilmerding for the “Party In The Park” event in conjunction with Westinghouse Arts Academy and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Then on Sunday, June 25, we participated in another OpenStreetsPGH event in Lawrenceville, organized by Bike Pittsburgh.
We’re headed to Sandusky, Ohio, for July 4. And then we’ll be back in Pittsburgh rehearsing our new show!
Final Hometown Performances of "Hand to Hand"
We had a wonderful weekend in our hometown, doing the final local performances of Hand to Hand during the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
We want to send a special thank you out to Sarah from the Festival and Max from Flyspace for taking care of us.
We'll be spending the rest of our summer creating and rehearsing our new show. Check back in July for news!
Photos by Squonk and Susan Wallace.
Announcing Summer 2023 Happenings
Summer is here! And so are the final performances of Hand to Hand. We have a few more dates with the giant purple hands before we premiere our next outdoor spectacle.
First up is the Three Rivers Arts Festival. This is the last chance for yinz to see a full Hand to Hand performance in Pittsburgh. Then, we’ll travel to Sandusky, Ohio, for a July 4th celebration.
We’ve also got several Squonk in the Neighborhood events planned. Our giant purple hands (without the band) will be at the next OpenStreetsPGH event in Lawrenceville, sponsored by BikePGH. They’ll also be in Wilmerding at the Westinghouse Arts Academy. Kelsey and Treasure, our teaching artists, will be leading workshops with the Vandergrift Library and at Assemble’s camps.
Pittsburgh, PA: Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 10 at noon and 3 p.m. and June 11 at 2 and 4 p.m.
Sandusky, OH: 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Sandusky Library/Lange Trust on July 4 at 1 and 3 p.m.
Celebrating OpenStreetsPGH
We brought our big purple hands to the South Side of Pittsburgh on May 28 for the first OpenStreetsPGH event of 2023. We love these events, which open miles of city streets for people to walk, run, bike, and explore spaces that would otherwise be used by motor vehicles.
The event series is organized by Bike Pittsburgh, a non-profit organization that works to make Pittsburgh safe and accessible for everyone to bike and walk.
Opening a New Venue in Omaha
We lent a hand to help open a brand new venue: Steelhouse Omaha in Nebraska. We performed Hand to Hand as part of their inaugural family weekend in May. The venue was fantastic, and so were the people.
It also marked our first gig in Nebraska, making it the 36th state we have Squonked!
Hands-On Science in Columbus
We took Hand to Hand to the largest STEM event in Ohio: COSI’s Science Festival. We were part of the Big Science Celebration in Columbus, where we performed Hand to Hand and presented “It’s a Gas!”—a demonstration showing gas as a visible and powerful fluid. We enjoyed seeing all the other science explorations. And we even got to walk through a giant inflatable colon!