DESCRIPTION

HOW BIG WE ARE. AND WHAT WE DO.

Hand to Hand is propelled by 2 giant puppet hands, each the size of a house and rigged like a sailing ship, and music that blows the roof off. The Squonkers, dwarfed by the hands, climb a multi-tiered stage. Music rises from a single finger flicking an organ key, as natural an expression of humanity as a wave or a fist. Squonk's original progressive rock drives a journey that is spectacular, plaintive, and comic. In this melee, the giant thumbs detach to become truly opposable and challenge each other with guitars. Audience members come together to grab the rigging, each individual powering a larger movement of giant fingers, a web of connections, a single dance. We want to encourage shared discovery, people face to face, festive, and making a community of the imagination. Hand to Hand.

Co-commissioned by the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C), Artscape (Baltimore, MD), Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (Pittsburgh, PA), Moraine Valley Fine & Performing Arts Center (Chicago, IL), FirstWorks (Providence, RI), and Discovery Green (Houston, TX).

Created in 2019.

Videos

Squonk's Hand to Hand Highlights (Copy)

Behind the Scenes of Squonk's Hand to Hand (Copy)

Get a sneak peek behind the creation of Hand to Hand with Squonk's Artistic Directors Jackie Dempsey & Steve O'Hearn.

Squonk Joy: Hand to Hand (Copy)

Audience members join in the fun!

Behind the Scenes of Squonk's Hand to Hand (Copy)

Performances

Touring history

Three Rivers Arts Festival
Pittsburgh, PA

50th Anniversary Celebration
Sandusky Library/Lange Trust
Sandusky, OH

Omaha Performing Arts
Omaha, NE

Center of Science and Industry
Columbus, OH

Waterloo Green Day Festival
Austin, TX

Koger Center for the Arts
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC

DREAMS Center for Arts Education
Sponsored by Wilson Center at
Cape Fear Community College
Wilmington, NC

NC State Live
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC

Association of Science and Technology
Centers Conference
Pittsburgh, PA

Supercrawl
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Arts Commons
Western Arts Alliance Conference
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Alternating Currents Festival
Quad City Arts
Davenport, IA

Artpark
Lewiston, NY

Great South Bay Music Festival
Patchogue, NY

City of Pittsburgh’s Independence Day Festival
Pittsburgh, PA

PVDFest
Providence, RI

Flint Hills Family Festival
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
St. Paul, MN

Fairmont Opera House
Fairmont, MN

National Kids to Parks Day
Schenley Plaza
Pittsburgh, PA

Zoellner Arts Center
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA

LoKo Arts Festival
SUNY Potsdam
Potsdam, NY

Earth Day
Hazelwood, PA

Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival
Fort Worth, TX

The Gathering Place
Tulsa, OK

Columbia Festival of the Arts
Columbia, MD

Berrie Center for Performing & Visual Arts at Ramapo College
Mahwah, NJ

Hamilton College
Clinton, NY

Erie’s Blues & Jazz Festival
Erie, PA

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Big Umbrella Outdoors
New York, NY

Des Moines Performing Arts
Cowles Commons
Des Moines, IA

Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN

Alternating Currents Festival
Quad City Arts
Davenport, IA

Carnaval Sharpsburg
Sharpsburg, PA

Pollinator Garden Tour
Wilkinsburg, PA

Music on the Mon
South Side, Pittsburgh, PA

Pitt Arts Fest
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

Kennedy Center
Opening Festival for The REACH
Washington, D.C.

Moraine Valley Fine & Performing Arts Center
Palos Hills, IL

PPG Plaza
Pittsburgh, PA

Artscape
Baltimore, MD

Photos

Downloads

Hand to Hand Tech Rider

Hand to Hand STEAM Workshop

For downloadable publicity photos, contact Jackie Dempsey

Basic Tech Info

Self-contained for staging, sound, & crew
Requiring approximately 50’ x 50’ footprint with 30’ overhead clearance, & access to power
Multiple half-hour shows & STEAM workshops are possible each day

ARTISTS

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Steve O’Hearn & Jackie Dempsey

BAND
Keyboards
Jackie Dempsey

Bagpipes & Wind Synth
Steve O’Hearn

Drums
Charlie Kiesling
Jeremy Papay (Original Drummer)

Electric Guitar
David Wallace

Bass
Tony Thomas
Nathan Wilson (Original Bassist)

HANDLERS
D.T. Burns
Nick Darke
Mike Gruber
Brad Keller
Heidi Nagle
Randy Nickerson
Todd Nonn
Kelsey Robinson
Treasure Treasure
Forrest Trimble
Austin Vervain
Taylor Weiner

PRODUCTION TEAM
Music
Jackie Dempsey with her Squonkers

Design
Steve O’Hearn

Stage Direction & Creative Consultation
Rick Kemp

Technical Direction
Todd Nonn

Graphic Design
David Wallace

Movement Consultation
Beth Corning

Painting
Emma Cummings
Elliott Gardner
Chris Letzelter
Chris St. Pierre
David Wallace

Teaching Artists
Kelsey Robinson
Alison Babusci

Costume Design
Hilary Penigar

Build
Chris Barker
Daniel Callery
Jo Cohen
Nick Darke
Brad Keller
Venise St. Pierre
Spencer Thomas
Forrest Trimble
Taylor Weiner

Sound
George Powell
Carolyn Slothour
Warren Pryde
Mike Gruber
Brandon Walker

VIDEO TEAM
Director of Photography / Producer
Luke Geissbühler

Editor
David S. Rubin

Sound Mixing & Mastering
Nathan Wilson

Camera Operators
Kevin Jacobsen
Alex Hass

Camera Assistant
Charlie Muentes

Production Assistant
Silin Cowles

Behind the Scenes Video
Jason Cohn

Steve and Jackie would like to acknowledge everyone involved in this production
for their creative contributions, especially the Squonk musicians for adding their
own individual flavor to the music, and the designers, builders, and technicians who
added detail and richness to the production.

Hand to Hand