Founded in 2007 by the Dynamic Duo of David T. English & W. Donald Orkoskey The Schmutz Company quickly rose to prominence as brilliant stop motion animators. Many accolades were laid at their feet. The pressure from the throngs of fans quickly became difficult for them to handle and for much of 2008 they took a break to focus on their personal lives.
They came back full force in 2009 and began providing facilitation for kids in 2010. Since returning to the art scene full force the Schmutz Company has refocused itself as a performance & visual arts spectacle and arts education partnership. They’ve produced a number of non-traditional puppet shows and have performed at the world renowned Three Rivers Arts Festival and the International Children’s Festival.
After their successes at the TRAF they performed at the cabaret style show “Puppets and Pierogies” with performers from as far away as New Orleans and Hawaii. They also teamed up with Pittsburgh’s Typewriter Girls for their show Typewriter Girls Vs. God. Dave then collaborated with them again during their performance at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture.
Collaborations continued when the Schmutz Company teamed up with Squonk Opera for their Halloween show at the Kelly Strayhorn theater in 2010 a performance they were eventually paid for sometime in 2011.
In 2011 they purchased a house on Broad St in Garfield and named it the Garfield Bridge with the intention of establishing an artist residency and engaging the immediate community with art and community building.
A particularly proud moment was a collaboration between the resident artists and a group of 4 Romanian theater directing students who produced DOR, a play that was a reaction to their experiences in America. DOR can be seen here.
In the fall of 2011 The Schmutz Brothers (as they are mistakenly called by nearly everyone) teamed up with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to create the Makeshop Show – an online hub that introduces and celebrates maker culture.
2012 was a year of growth for Schmutz as they continued working on the Makeshop Show as well as expanded their animation workshops to include work with new audiences including those on the autism spectrum and kids and families dealing with issues of homelessness.
The Schmutz Company is:
- David T. English – Partner in charge of content, writing, sculpting, and scheduling.
- W. Donald Orkoskey – Partner in charge of marketing, technology, documentation, and financial administration.
We have a number of artists that we love to collaborate with – check the links for more information. These include fire artists, literary genesises, conceptual artists, artist educators, and musicians.
