Squonk Opera

Squonk Opera is a group of interdisciplinary performing artists from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Led by artistic directors Jackie Dempsey and Steve O'Hearn, Squonk Opera formed in 1992 and has created eight distinct shows and performed in over 200 venues in the United States (as of 2006). In the 2003/2004 season, they also began performing outside their home country, doing shows in Scotland, Belgium, and South Korea.

Squonk Opera's shows consist of music, visual art, and acting elements in an attempt to make a form of opera accessible to all people. The group "like to think of ourselves as a wacky, provincial opera company," says Dempsey, who named the group "Squonk" after a description of a jazz saxophonist's playing as a "squonk-fest", rather than the legendary creature of the same name.

In 2000, Squonk Opera took their show "Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk" onto Broadway from its previous off-Broadway run. Though the venture was a commercial failure, the exposure it gained them was ultimately beneficial.

Squonk Opera has received several grants and awards for their work, including four NEA grants, an American Theater Wing Award, and grants from the Rockefeller M.A.P. Fund, Heinz Endowments, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henson Foundation and The Pittsburgh Foundation.

Current members

*Jackie Dempsey: artistic director, composer, pianist, accordionist
*Steve O’Hearn: artistic director, artist, wind player
*Kevin Kornicki: assistant musical director, sound designer, percussionist [all except "howandever"]
*Ryan McMasters: upright and electric bass
*Autumn Ayers: vocals
*David Wallace: electric and acoustic guitarIn addition to the core performers, Squonk Opera also collaborates with a variety of artists and technicians.Several other members were previously part of the group but have since moved on to other projects.

Previous members

*Nathan Wilson: Upright & Fretless Bass
*Jody Abbott: Vocals ["Inferno"]
*Christina Acosta: Vocals ["Rodeo Smackdown", "You are here"]
*T. Weldon Anderson: Double Bass ["Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk"]
*Kate Aronson: Vocals ["howandever"]
*Brian Berkheiser: Electric Bass ["howandever", "Ha Ha Tali"]
*Sean Brennan: Contraption Kit & Rototoms ["howandever"]
*Paul Arrow: Electric & Double Bass ["Inferno"]
*Akshay Goel: Tabla & Electric Tabla ["howandever"]
*Jana Losey: Vocals ["Ha Ha Tali", "Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk"]
*Casi Pacilio: Technical Director ["Ha Ha Tali", "Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk"]

hows

*"Forgotten Works" (1995)
*:A work focusing on "consumption, waste, and recycling", in collaboration with modern dance troupe No Language. "Forgotten Works" was performed at Keystone Iron & Metal, a Pittsburgh scrapyard; the artists used such unlikely materials as cranes, demolished cars, and metal shearers as part of the performance.
*"Night of the Living Dead: The Opera" (1995)
*:Squonk Opera was commissioned to set music and live-action performance to the classic "Night of the Living Dead" zombie film for the Pittsburgh City Theatre.
*"Firedogs" (1996)
*:A humorous educational multimedia picture of the Pittsburgh steel industry, including such characters as "Bessie the Bessemer Furnace".
*"The Great Circle Route" (1998)
*:Subtitled "The Underwater Opera", "The Great Circle Route" claims inspiration from medical textbooks, Godzilla movies, and Michel Foucault in a show that draws on imagery of the underwater world for a journey under the sea.
*"Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk" (1998)
*:A surreal tour through the "restaurant kitchen of the mind", in a mix of horror and fantasy.
*"Inferno" (2001)
*:A tale of a mine fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania, based on Dante's "Divine Comedy". Initially titled "Burn" during some early performances.
*"Rodeo Smackdown" (2004)
*:Squonk chooses the unlikely setting of the rodeo for this retelling of the minotaur myth.
*"Put your hometown's name here: The Opera" (2006-present)
*:Music meets multi-media odes to the history and ambiance of various cities, including Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Albany, St. Louis and Bloomington, In. with local talent, video-taped and projected interviews, and a host of local references tailored to each venue's locale.
*"Astro-Rama" (Fall, 2008)
*:Squonk sends a message to the cosmos from a 40' radio telescope dish mounted to scaffold towers, and tuned to the galactic frequency of B-flat. Rising in scissor lift platforms and cherry pickers, they compose a proud message from our species, power up and transmit.

CDs

*"howandever" (1994)
*"Ha Ha Tali" (1996)
*"Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk" (2000)
*"Inferno" (2002)
*"Rodeo Smackdown" (2004)
*"You Are Here" (2006)

References and external links

* [http://www.squonkopera.com/index.html Squonk Opera]
* [http://www.pacpubserver.com/new/enter/10-30-00/squonk.html Princeton Packet review of Squonk Opera and "Bigsmörgåsbørdwünderwerk"]
* [http://www.bmorelive.com/baltimore-the-opera/ Baltimore: The Opera coverage in Bmore Live]