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?’”
History
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Tuesday marked 60 years since four gay activists held protest
While Stonewall is widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S., a lesser-known protest inside a Greenwich Village bar three years earlier helped lay critical groundwork for what would follow.
Tuesday marked 60 years since the Julius’ Bar “sip in.”
On April 21, 1966, four gay rights activists — Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and later Randy Wicker — walked into Julius’ Bar and staged what would become known as a “sip-in” to challenge state liquor regulations on serving alcoholic beverages to gay men — with a drink.
Modeled after the sit-ins that challenged racial segregation across the American South, the protest was designed to confront discriminatory practices targeting LGBTQ patrons in public spaces.
At the time, the Mattachine Society — one of the country’s earliest gay rights groups — was actively pushing back against policies enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority. One of those policies could have resulted in the loss of liquor licenses for serving known or suspected gay men and lesbians. The participants had visited multiple establishments, openly identified themselves as homosexual, and requested a drink — with the anticipation of being denied.
Their final stop was Julius’, where reporters and a photographer had gathered to document the moment. When Leitsch declared their identity, the bartender covered their glasses and refused service, reportedly saying, “I think it’s against the law.” The next day, the New York Times ran a story with the headline, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars,” cementing the moment in the public record.
Though initially framed with disrespect — the term “sip-in” itself was coined as a play on civil rights protests — the action marked a turning point. It brought national attention to the systemic discrimination LGBTQ people faced and helped catalyze changes in how liquor laws were enforced. In the years that followed, the protest contributed to the emergence of licensed, more openly gay-friendly bars, which became central social and organizing spaces for LGBTQ communities.
The Washington Blade originally covered when the bar was officially added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Today, historians and advocates increasingly recognize the “sip-in” as a key pre-Stonewall milestone. According to the New York City LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, the protest not only increased visibility of the early LGBTQ rights movement but also exposed widespread surveillance and entrapment tactics used against the community.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the event, commemorations have taken place in New York and across the country. Reflecting on its enduring legacy, Amanda Davis, executive director of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, spoke about the event.
“Julius’ Bar is a place you can visit and viscerally connect with history,” said Davis. “We’re thrilled to have solidarity locations across the country join us in commemorating the ‘sip-in’’s 60th anniversary and the queer community’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.”
For current stewards of the historic bar, the responsibility of preserving that legacy remains front of mind.
“It’s a privilege and a responsibility to be the steward of a place so important to American and LGBTQ history,” said current owner of Julius’ Bar, Helen Buford. “The events of the 1966 Sip-In here at Julius’ resonated across the country and inspired countless others to stand proud for their rights.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a more important moment, Kymn Goldstein, executive director of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, explained.
“At a time when our community faces renewed challenges, coming together in resilience and solidarity reminds us of the power in our collective resistance,” Goldstein said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to defending rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, is currently tracking 519 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. The majority are targeted at restricting transgender rights — particularly related to gender-affirming care, sports participation, and the use of public bathrooms.
Some additional groups and bars that held their own “sip-in” as solidarity events to uplift this historic milestone are from across the country include:
Alice Austen House at Steiny’s Pub, Staten Island, N.Y.
Bellows Falls Pride Committee at PK’s Irish Pub, Bellows Falls, Vt.
Brick Road Coffee, Mesa, Ariz.
Brick Road Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Dick Leitsch’s Family at Old Louisville Brewery, Louisville, Ky.
The Faerie Playhouse & LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at Le Cabaret, New Orleans
Harlem Pride & John Reddick at L’Artista Italian Kitchen & Bar, New York
JOYR!DE KiKi at Loafers Cocktail Bar, New York
Matthew Lawrence & Jason Tranchida / Headmaster at Deadbeats Bar, Providence, R.I.
Mazer Lesbian Archives at Alana’s Coffee, Los Angeles
New Hope Celebrates at The Club Room, New Hope, Pa.
Queer Memory Project at the University of Evansville Multicultural Student Commons / Ridgway University Center, Evansville, Ind.
Sandy Jack’s Bar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. Louis LGBT History Project at Just John Club, St. Louis
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch was held at Salamander Washington DC on Sunday, April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) was presented with the Allyship Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The umbrella LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C. held its annual Night of Champions Gala at the Georgetown Marriott on Saturday, April 18. Team D.C. presented scholarships to local student athletes and presented awards to Adam Peck, Manuel Montelongo (a.k.a. Mari Con Carne), Dr. Sara Varghai, Dan Martin and the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Sean Bartel was posthumously honored with the Most Valuable Person Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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