Arts & Entertainment
A dash of Basil
Gay puppet innovator dazzles with local run
Basil Twist
‘Petrushka’
March 16-25
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th Street, NW
$22.50-$50
202-547-1122
Puppeteer Basil Twist is having his work exhibited in several D.C. theaters in the coming weeks. (Image courtesy Shakespare Theater Co.)
Basil Twist’s work has been called superhuman, breathtaking and adored — not the usual words used to describe a puppet show. But then, Twist isn’t your usual puppeteer. His sophisticated approach to puppetry melds tradition with innovation and in the process takes the art form to new heights. Throughout March and April, four of his shows can be seen locally as part of “Twist Festival D.C.,” giving area audiences an opportunity to experience his magic.
The mini-fest kicks off at the Shakespeare Theatre Company with “Petrushka,” Twist’s take on the classic Russian ballet about a love triangle involving three puppets: the eponymous clown, a ballerina and a Moor. Originally commissioned for New York’s Lincoln Center in 2000, it’s a puppet show about puppets with music — Russian identical twins Irina and Julia Elkina play a reduction of Igor Stravinsky’s score on identical pianos.
And though he doesn’t perform in the show, Twist selected, trained and directed the unseen puppeteers who animate the 4-foot-tall puppets that he built. “Three puppeteers are required to operate one puppet. For me the puppet is the embodiment of a super human being,” Twist says. “The puppet ballerina soars. She can do things that a human being only wishes she could do.”
A third-generation puppeteer, Twist, who is gay and single, broke onto the scene in 1998 with his underwater, classical musical puppet show “Symphonie Fantastique” (with a festival production at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland in College Park). He credits his training at France’s prestigious École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette with allowing him to think outside the traditional puppet box: “I was taught how puppetry fits into the larger world of art. It’s prompted me to collaborate and think larger and more ambitiously about the place of puppetry in the world.”
The festival’s other two productions are “Arias with a Twist,” his racy and riveting collaboration with New York cabaret and drag performer Joey Arias; and “Dogugaeshi,” a Japanese-inspired journey of images accompanied by original shamisen (Japanese lute) compositions performed by master musician Yumiko Tanaka (at Woolly Mammoth and Studio Theatre respectively).
“A good puppeteer is game, ready and willing to do whatever it takes,” says Twist, 41. “It’s not comfortable: A puppeteer must put his body in weird positions. I’ve tried to use dancers as puppeteers but because they’re so into their own bodies, they have a hard time translating movement into another object. Musicians who play guitar and piano have more success.”
Growing up in San Francisco, Twist played with puppets and made envied Halloween costumes. He loved the Muppets and dreamt of a career in puppetry or animation. He briefly attended Oberlin College where he quickly realized that Ohio undergrad life wasn’t for him. One day at the library he came across a book describing internships at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. Instantly he realized, “That’s where I needed to be. It was crystal clear to me.” So Twist left school and moved to New York City, where he still lives. Freshly determined to become a professional puppeteer, he interned in Atlanta and later studied in France. Fortunately for him, “the puppet thing has worked out, because I can’t do anything else.”
Today, the award-winning puppeteer works in a funky Greenwich Village basement studio. And while he considers himself a downtown auteur — a niche he clearly relishes — who does his own puppetry and scenic design projects, Twist isn’t averse to accepting the occasional commercial commission. Recently he traveled to San Paulo, Brazil to tweak his puppets for “The Addams Family Musical” which he created for the original Broadway production. Before heading home, he flew to Rio for Carnival. Of course, Twist says, the party was good and guys were hot, but it was the nightly Samba school competition that impressed him most. “It was like the Super Bowl meets the Oscars meets Burning Man — truly an inspiring experience that I’ll never forget.”
So, can we expect an upcoming show that features hip-shaking, scantily costumed puppets? Maybe someday, but for now, Twist is working on his version of “The Rite of Spring,” another Russian ballet, again with music by Stravinsky.
When creating a new puppet show, Twist says, “I like to think of myself as an audience member. I want to be dazzled. I want it to be very athletic and fast. I want to ask ‘How did they do that?’”
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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