The Lively Arts at Indiana University of Pennsylvania will present Squonk Opera on Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. in the IUP Performing Arts Center's Fisher Auditorium.
The program is part of the Performance Plus season and celebrates the inaugural season in IUP's Performing Arts Center.
This one-time-only performance brings the world-touring performance company Squonk Opera together with dozens of Indiana County residents and IUP students.
The multimedia production includes original music, local histories, video, dance, lights and other theatrical spectacles. Local contributions include interviews with 18 people from Indiana County, more than 100 drawings by area elementary students, a community finale chorus of more than 30 voices, local scenic video shot on the ground and in the air, and area dancers ranging from age 13 through adult. IUP students in the department of theater and dance have also participated in the creation of special puppets and props for the stage.
The Indiana Arts Council will sponsor a reception in the mezzanine lobby following the performance.
Tickets for the performance are available in advance at the Hadley Union Building. Tickets are also available online or by calling 724-357-1313. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door starting at 7:15 p.m.
Tickets cost $16 for regular admission, $14 for seniors and groups of 15 or more, and $10 for all students and children.
For more information about the performance, call The Lively Arts at 724-357-2547.
Squonk Opera premiered in Pittsburgh in June 2006. To create the hometown operas, the “Squonkers” draw from local communities' halftime shows, centennial celebrations, political campaigns, tribal displays, and local mythologies.
Squonk Opera is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts. It is administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
Performance Plus is presented by the IUP College of Fine Arts and is funded, in part, by the IUP Student Cooperative Association, African American Cultural Center, Office of International Education, Liberal Studies, Office of Social Equity and Civic Engagement, and the Division of Student Affairs.
Performance Plus is additionally supported by a grant from The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts provided through the Pennsylvania Rural Arts Alliance.