What’s a Squonk? The most astonishing outdoor concert experience comes to Calgary!
Giant inflatable set pieces, rocking music, and an attitude to match – that’s the experience that Squonk has cultivated for the past 30 years. They have performed for over 1 million people live, across 3 continents and in 35 of the United States, and for over 14 million people on network television. Now it's your chance to learn more about the unstoppable phenomenon known as Squonk.
This unconventional performance troupe started in an unexpected place when co-founders Steve O’Hearn and Jackie Dempsey had a chance meeting in a Pittsburgh bar. Keyboardist Jackie Dempsey was serving burgers fresh out of graduate school studying music. In a similar way, Steve O’Hearn had just graduated studying design.
“Listen Jackie, why don’t you quit this dump and I’ll make you a star,” quotes Steve about his early interaction with Jackie. “That’s not exactly how it ended up, but it has been a blast.”
Since that first meeting, Steve and Jackie have created magical outdoor experiences that push boundaries and break down barriers for arts participation in everyone from young kids to senior citizens.
“We’ve developed a format that’s pretty idiosyncratic,” says Steve. “Audience members play with those dynamics that are non-narrative, non-representational. The best audience experience that they could have is to walk away having invented the experience themselves. We hope that they come and it’s surprising, emotional, and that it creates a moment of community between them and the people around them.”
Squonk last made a splash in Calgary during the 2015 Calgary International Children’s Festival, performing on a stage in the middle of Olympic Plaza – while it was filled with water. To this day, it’s still the only gig that Squonk has performed in the middle of a pool.
“The whole audience was in the water. It was wild,” Steve says with a laugh. For their Calgary return, Squonk is bringing Hand to Hand, a production that originally premiered in late 2019. According to Steve, it was a dark time for many artists in the United States. The feeling was that people were being driven apart by divisive arguments with no middle ground of discussion or compromise. That mood inspired the Squonk duo to create something joyful and celebratory. The giant hands that are the centerpiece of the show speak to the impact that an individual can have – even when they might feel very small. Post-pandemic, these hands now take on a new meaning – reaching out, to bring people together.
“The climax of the show is the audience controlling 20-foot-tall hands. We went through a couple iterations where we brought ropes into the audience to encourage interaction, but the kids always just come roaring up,” says Steve. “They’re absolutely wonderful in their interactions. We continue to be amazed by the joy and the capacity that the audiences bring to the interactive part of the show.”
Squonk runs for seven free performances from Monday, August 29 – Wednesday, August 31 at Olympic Plaza. To find out more details, visit artscommons.ca/squonk.
