Japan Society Adds Additional 9/21 Performance of Basil Twist's DOGUGAESHI

Japan Society has announced an added performance in the September 18-22 limited engagement of renowned puppet artist Basil Twist's award-winning Dogugaeshi, the production launching Japan Society's 60th Anniversary Performing Arts Season: Japan, the U.S. & Beyond!. Originally set to play seven performances, the production has added an eighth performance: Saturday, September 21 at 2:00pm. Complete schedule as follows: Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00pm; Thursday, September 19 at 7:30pm; Friday, September 20 at 7:00 & 9:30pm; Saturday, September 21 at 2:00, 7:00 & 9:30pm; and Sunday, September 22 at 2:00 pm.

In Dogugaeshi, a swirling whirlpool leads into a mystical world where a white fox, the piece's sole figurative puppet, guides viewers through a forest of ever-unfolding, infinitely intricate images of ancient and modern Japan. Inspired by the centuries-old stage mechanism once commonly used in Japanese puppet theater (dogugaeshi), this production features nearly 100 handcrafted painted screens that slide, swivel, bend and bounce, drawing audiences into a mesmerizing landscape. Dogugaeshi features four puppeteers, including Basil Twist, and a live performance by master shamisen player and experimental musician Yumiko Tanaka, whose multilayered music collage embraces everything from traditional tunes to popular songs. For the upcoming engagement, Japan Society's 260-seat auditorium will be transformed into an intimate 70-seat black box theater.

Performance runs approximately 60 minutes.

Commissioned by Japan Society in 2003, Dogugaeshi premiered to wide acclaim there in 2004 and returned to New York during the Society's Centennial Celebration in 2007. Winner of a 2005 Bessie Award and New York Innovative Theatre Artistic Achievement Award, the show has toured extensively, including several appearances in Japan, and was part of Basil Twist's 2012 career retrospective festival in Washington, D.C. In addition to the appearance at Japan Society this Fall, Dogugaeshi will have performances at Hamilton College (Hamilton, NY; September 13-14); Radar L.A. (RedCat, Los Angeles, CA; September 26-29); and Cal Performances (Berkley, CA; November 6-10).

This multidisciplinary production includes Video Projection Design by Peter Flaherty (Broadway: Sondheim on Sondheim; Parsifal at The Metropolitan Opera; Soul Leaves Her Body at HERE; Big Dance Theater's The Other Here; Complicite's The Elephant Vanishes; The Builder's Association's Continuous City), Lighting Design by Andrew Hill (Big Dance Theater's Shunkin; Len Jenkin's Like I Say) and Sound Design by Greg Duffin (Conne Production's Luna; Resident Sound Designer for Japan Society NYC since 2004; Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique and Arias with a Twist; Work and Screenplay for the Flea Theater; The Wild Pear for Theatre Arts Japan; Flyers and Other Tales for Heels Hit First). Associate Lighting Designer is Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa (Basil Twist's Rite of Spring and Arias with a Twist). Puppeteers for the New York engagement: Basil Twist, Kate Brehm, David Ojala and Jessica Scott.