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Basil
Twist

Basil Twist
Puppeteer and Director
New York, NY
2006 USA Fellow

This award was generously supported by the Ford Foundation.
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Basil Twist is a puppeteer and director committed to advancing the artistry and technical developments in the field and to educating new generations of puppeteers and audiences. Some of Twist’s recent productions includeLa Bella Dormente nel Bosco, a marionette staging of Ottorino Respighi’s operaSleeping Beauty(staged at the Spoleto Festival USA and the Lincoln Center Festival in 2005);Symphonie Fantastique, an abstract underwater ballet, which was seen at the HERE Arts Center, Dodger Stages, the Ravinia Festival, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, The Tollwood Festival in Munich, and many other theaters; andDogugaeshi, a piece meant for small theaters inspired by thedogugashistage mechanism in Japanese puppet theater (staged at the Japan Society in 2004). Among his many awards, Twist recently received a Guggenheim Fellowship, two Bessie awards, the New York Innovative Theater Award for Sustained Artistic Excellence, and an Obie.

Portrait photo courtsey Greg Barrett.

basiltwist.com
  • Artwork by Basil Twist
    The Witch, from Hansel and Gretel, 2006, Houston Grand Opera; photo courtesy the artist
Artwork by Basil Twist