Twist, Basil (1969-)

Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer, who lives and works in New York. Graduate of San Francisco University High School, he studied at the New School of Visual Arts in New York. In 1990 he left for France : he became the only American to graduate from the Ecole Superieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières, one of the world's premiere puppetry training programs. Basil's work was first spotlighted in New York in 1995 with his creation "The Araneidae Show". He was awarded a 1997 Bessie Award and a UNIMA Citation of Excellence for this production. The 1998 year was a landmark year for him with the premiere of "Symphonie Fantastique". He received for this creation a 1999 Drama Desk Nomination, a UNIMA Citation of Excellence, the Henry Hewes Design Award and an OBIE Award. Since 1998, Basil has continually expanded the realm of puppetry by creating and touring new works, focusing especially on work integrated with live music. In 2000, he created "Petrushka" and was award for this production a 2000 UNIMA Citation of Excellence. Then, he worked on "Master Peter's Puppet Show" with Eos Orchestra. Twist developed the puppetry for Paula Vogel's new play "The Long Christmas Ride Home" in 2003. Sign of an unusual career, Basil Twist was consultant on the third "Harry Potter" film for the creation and manipulation of the Dementors. In 2004, after spending four months in Japan, he created "Dogugaeshi". In 2006, he made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall with "Master Peter's Puppet Show". Basil was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera and The Atlanta Opera to create a new "Hansel & Gretel", which premiered in 2007. In 2008, "Arias with a Twist" born from collaboration with the famous drag-queen and performer Joey Arias. Basil is the director of The Dream Music Puppetry Program at HERE Arts Center.