Basil Twist
Encyclopedia
Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer
who is best known for his underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique".
, France. He is founder and director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at Here Arts Center
in NYC, 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 "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. Twist's "Doguageshi" features original shamisen
compositions created and performed live by master musician Yumiko Tanaka. He also directed and designed Humperdinck's opera, Hansel and Gretel, for the Houston Grand Opera
and the Atlanta Opera. In 2010, Twist created the puppetry for the Broadway productions of The Pee-wee Herman Show
and The Addams Family
.
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. 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
, Pilobolus
, Paula Vogel
and Joe Goode
.
He is considered an important theater artist by critics of the New York Times, The New Yorker
, et al. He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including an Obie Award
and a Guggenheim fellowship
, and his work has been presented internationally.
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
who is best known for his underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique".
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-MézièresCharleville-Mézières
Charleville-Mézières is a commune in northern France, capital of the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the Meuse River.-History:...
, France. He is founder and director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at Here Arts Center
HERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City based off-off broadway presenting house, founded in 1993, with two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry. From 1993-2009, HERE supported over 12,000 artists and served approximately 950,000 audience members...
in NYC, 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 "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. Twist's "Doguageshi" features original shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
compositions created and performed live by master musician Yumiko Tanaka. He also directed and designed Humperdinck's opera, Hansel and Gretel, for the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
and the Atlanta Opera. In 2010, Twist created the puppetry for the Broadway productions of The Pee-wee Herman Show
The Pee-wee Herman Show
The Pee-wee Herman Show is a stage show developed by Paul Reubens in 1980. It marks the first significant appearance of his comedic fictional character, Pee-wee Herman, five years before Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and six years before Pee-wee's Playhouse...
and The Addams Family
The Addams Family (musical)
The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...
.
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
Lee Breuer
Lee Breuer is an American academic, educator, film maker, poet, lyricist, writer and stage director.-Work with Mabou Mines:Lee Breuer is a founding artistic director of Mabou Mines Theater Company in New York City, which he began in 1970 with colleagues Philip Glass, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne...
and Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
, he created wind puppetry. 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
Arias with a Twist
Arias with a Twist is a collaborative play created by drag queen Joey Arias and puppeteer Basil Twist. It premiered on June 12, 2008 at the HERE Arts Center in the Dorothy B. Williams Theatre...
, among others. He has collaborated with such artists as Joey Arias
Joey Arias
Joey Arias is a New York City based performance artist, cabaret singer, and drag artist.Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he was six when he moved with his family to Los Angeles. After singing with the rock band "Purlie" on Capitol Records and a stint with famed improvisational group the...
, Lee Breuer
Lee Breuer
Lee Breuer is an American academic, educator, film maker, poet, lyricist, writer and stage director.-Work with Mabou Mines:Lee Breuer is a founding artistic director of Mabou Mines Theater Company in New York City, which he began in 1970 with colleagues Philip Glass, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne...
, Pilobolus
Pilobolus (dance company)
Pilobolus is a contemporary dance company whose origins are traced to a 1971 Dartmouth College dance class taught by Alison Becker Chase. The group first began performing in October 1971....
, Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.-Early years:...
and Joe Goode
Joe Goode
Joe Goode was born in Oklahoma City, OK in 1937. In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles, CA where he attended the Chouinard Art Institute until 1961.First recognized for his Pop Art milk bottle paintings and cloud imagery, Goode's work was included along with Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine,...
.
He is considered an important theater artist by critics of the New York Times, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, et al. He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
and a Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, and his work has been presented internationally.