Puppet Designer/Visual Effect Designer: Underground River
Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer and native San Franciscan. His Symphonie Fantastique, an abstract interpretation of Hector Berlioz’s music presented in a 500-gallon tank of water, premiered at Here in New York, received an OBIE award and continues to be presented throughout the world. He received a Drama Desk nomination for his work on Theater Couture’s off Broadway hit Tell Tale. Twist’s Lincoln Center commissioned Petrushka premiered in New York, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. The production was awarded a 2000 UNIMA Citation of Excellence. Twist developed the puppetry for Paula Vogel’s new play The Long Christmas Ride Home and was the underwater puppetry consultant on the third Harry Potter film. Twist is the director of The Dream Music Puppetry Program at HERE Arts Center. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a United States Artists Fellow.
