Basil_Twist

Basil Twist
Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who

is known for his underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Basil Twist
Fantastique".[1] He was named a MacArthur
Fellowship recipient on September 29, 2015.[2]
Personal Life and work

He is openly gay and married to Broadway dancer Ken
Ard[3] Twist with a "Video Puppet", 2007
Born 28 June 1969
Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twist is a third San Francisco, California
generation puppeteer. He graduated from the École
Occupation(s) Director, puppeteer
Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in
Charleville-Mézières, France. He is founder and Website basiltwist.com (http://www.basil
twist.com)
director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at Here
Arts Center in NYC, which supports and produces new
puppet artists. He was a Fall 2015 MacArthur Fellow at the NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts.[4]
Twist has significantly contributed to the art of puppetry since 1998. He creates puppet works focused on
their integration with music. His Symphonie Fantastique, is performed to the symphony of the same
name. Twist's version of Master Peter's Puppet Show was created with the Eos Orchestra and later
performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.[5] Twist's "Dogugaeshi" features original
shamisen compositions created and performed live by master musician Yumiko Tanaka.[6] He also
directed and designed Humperdinck's opera, Hansel and Gretel, for the Houston Grand Opera and the
Atlanta Opera.[7] In 2010, Twist created the puppetry for the Broadway productions of The Pee-wee
Herman Show and The Addams Family.[8] Twist is known for his original adult puppet mediums and use
of abstraction in puppetry. "Symphonie Fantastique" takes place in a tank of water. In "Red Beads", his
collaboration with Lee Breuer and Mabou Mines, he created wind puppetry.[9] In "Dogugaeshi" he uses
the Japanese art form of sliding screens.
Other works include 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 such artists as Joey Arias, Lee Breuer, Kate Bush, Pilobolus, Paula Vogel and Joe Goode.
He is considered an important theater artist by critics at The New York Times, The New Yorker, et al.[10]
He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including a Rome Prize
from the American Academy in Rome, an Obie Award, a Creative Capital Award in the discipline of
Performing Arts[11] and a Guggenheim fellowship, and his work has been presented
internationally.[12][13][14]
In 2006, he had a solo exhibition at the Lisa Dent Gallery in San Francisco, CA.[15]
In 2022, it was announced that Twist was leading the puppetry in the Royal Shakespeare Company
adaptation of My Neighbor Totoro at the Barbican Theatre, London.[16]
References
1. Brantley, Ben (3 June 1998). "THEATER REVIEW; Wash Cycle Dreams, Via Berlioz" (http
s://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/03/theater/theater-review-wash-cycle-dreams-via-berlioz.htm
l). The New York Times. p. E1. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
2. Pogrebin, Robin (29 September 2015). "MacArthur "Genius Grant" Winners for 2015 Are
Announced" (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/29/arts/macarthur-genius-grant-winners-for-
2015-are-announced.html). The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
3. "Instagram" (https://www.instagram.com/p/C9clWVBuQVY/?igsh=b3owMng1cmhiN3U2).
4. NYU Web Communications (29 September 2015). "NYU CBA Fellow Basil Twist and
Alumnae Mimi Lien Michelle Dorrance Honored with MacArthur Foundation Grants" (http://w
ww.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2015/09/29/nyu-cba-fellow-and-tisch-and-gallatin
-alumnae-win-genius-grants.html). nyu.edu. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
5. "First, a bit of fantasy" (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-28-wk-hotticketb
28-story.html). Los Angeles Times. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
6. Spangler, Lois (14 September 2007). "Dogugaeshi" (http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/do
gu5747.htm). NYTheatre.com.
7. Ward, Charles (1 December 2006). "HGO's Hansel and Gretel: laughs and subversion" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20080905142326/http://blogs.chron.com/artsinhouston/2006/12/hgo
s_hansle_and_gretel_luaghs.html). Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original (http://blo
gs.chron.com/artsinhouston/2006/12/hgos_hansle_and_gretel_luaghs.html) on 5 September
2008.
8. Hagan, Molly (15 October 2010). "STAGE TUBE: Pee-Wee Herman Goes Biking with Jimmy
Fallon" (https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/STAGE-TUBE-PeeWee-Herman-Goes-Bikin
g-with-Jimmy-Fallon-20101015). BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
9. Jefferson, Margo (22 September 2005). "A Girl Caught in an Eternal Family Triangle" (http
s://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/theater/reviews/a-girl-caught-in-an-eternal-family-triangle.
html). The New York Times. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
10. Acocella, Joan (14 April 2008). "Doll Houses" (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/0
4/21/doll-houses). The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
11. "Basil Twist, Dogugaeshi" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090608211405/http://creative-capi
tal.org/projects/view/255). Creative Capital. Archived from the original (http://creative-capital.
org/projects/view/255) on 8 June 2009.
12. "New York Obies Theater Awards: 1999" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110506194719/htt
p://www.villagevoice.com/obies/index/1999). Village Voice. Archived from the original (http://
www.villagevoice.com/obies/index/1999) on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
13. Lipton, Brian Scott (10 April 2006). "Rinne Groff and Basil Twist Win Guggenheim
Fellowships" (https://www.theatermania.com/new-york/news/rinne-groff-and-basil-twist-win-g
uggenheim-fellows_8035.html). TheaterMania. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
14. Hetrick, Adam (2 February 2009). "Arias with a Twist Will Make European and Screen
Premieres" (https://playbill.com/article/arias-with-a-twist-will-make-european-and-screen-pre
mieres-com-157566). Playbill. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
15. "Past Exhibitions: 2006" (http://lisadentgallery.com/pastExhibits-2006.html). Lisa Dent
Gallery.
16. Wiegand, Chris (28 June 2022). "Muppet power! RSC uses puppet legends for My
Neighbour Totoro extravaganza" (https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jun/28/muppet-p
ower-rsc-puppet-legends-my-neighbour-totoro-staging-studio-ghibli-fluffy-monsters). The
Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
External links
Basil Twist's Official Homepage (http://www.basiltwist.com)
Archival footage of Basil Twist presenting at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2002 (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20140814174529/http://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/dance/ba
sil-twist?ref=artist&refcar=%2Fartist%2Fs-t)
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Basil Twist

Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who

Personal Life and work

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basil_Twist&oldid=1247534505"

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