- Basil Twist
Basil Twist is a
New York City basedpuppeteer . Best known for his innovative underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique", [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E3DC153BF930A35755C0A96E958260 Brantley, Ben "Wash Cycle Dreams, Via Berlioz" New York Times 3 June. 1998.] ] Twist creates original adult puppet works.Life and Work
Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer. He graduated from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mezieres, France. He is founder and director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at
Here Arts Center in NY, which supports and produces new puppet artists.Twist has significantly contributed to the art of puppetry since 1998. He creates puppet works focused on their integration with music. His puppet show,
Symphonie Fantastique is performed to the symphony of the same name. Twist's version of "Master Peter's Puppet Show" was created with theEos Orchestra and later performed with theLos Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra . [http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/28/news/wk-hotticketb28 "First, a bit of fantasy." Los Angeles Times 28 Sept. 2006.] ] Twist's "Doguageshi" features originalshamisen compositions created and performed live by master musicianYumiko Tanaka . [http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/dogu5747.htm Spangler, Lois "Dogugaeshi" nytheatre.com 14 Sept. 2007.] ] He also directed and designed Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel" for the Houston Grand Opera and the Atlanta Opera. [http://blogs.chron.com/artsinhouston/2006/12/hgos_hansle_and_gretel_luaghs.html Ward, Charles "HGO's Hansel and Gretel: laughs and subversion" Houston Chronicle 1 Dec. 2006.] ]Twist is well-known for his unusual puppet mediums and use of abstraction in puppetry. His best-known puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique" takes place in a tank of water. In "Red Beads", his collaboration with Lee Breuer and
Mabou Mines , he created wind puppetry. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/theater/reviews/22bead.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=red%20beads&st=cse&oref=slogin Jefferson, Margo "A Girl Caught in an Eternal Family Triangle" New York Times 22 Sept. 2005.] ] In "Dogugaeshi" he uses a dying Japanese art form of sliding screens.His works include Symphonie Fantastique, Dogugaeshi, La Bella Dormente nel Bosco, Petrushka, Hansel and Gretel, Master Peter's Puppet Show, the Araneidae Show, Behind the Lid, and
Arias with a Twist , among others. He has collaborated with many well-known artists including:Joey Arias ,Lee Breuer ,Lee Nagrin ,Theatre Couture ,Pilobolus (dance company) ,Paula Vogel , andJoe Goode .He is considered an important theater artist by critics of the New York Times, the New Yorker, and others. [http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/dancing/2008/04/21/080421crda_dancing_acocella Acocella, Joan. "Doll Houses." The New Yorker 21 April 2008.] ] He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including an
Obie Award and aGuggenheim fellowship , and his work has been presented internationally.References
External links
* [http://www.basiltwist.com Basil Twist Homepage]
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