EDGE Series Presents “Dogugaeshi”

The La Jolla Playhouse opens the first play in its EDGE series with Dogugaeshi. Created by celebrated international puppeteer Basil Twist (master puppeteer for the Playhouse’s acclaimed Peter and Wendy) with original shamisen compositions created and performed live by authorized master musician Yumiko Tanaka, Dogugaeshi performs June 10 – 14 in the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre.

In Dogugaeshi, renowned artist and puppeteer Basil Twist takes audiences on an intimate, abstract, contemporary journey of images and emotions influenced by the rare tradition of Japanese dogugaeshi technique. The intricate dogugaeshi mechanism of sliding screens that create an unfolding of various images and landscapes was developed centuries ago as the climactic sequence in Japanese traditional puppet theater. Now only practiced in the Awaji region of Japan, Twist has recreated the technique with his own interpretation, blending Japanese tradition with his own inimitable style.

The second EDGE show, Hoover: Tanned, Rested and Ready to Rock, is to be performed in September.

“I am also particularly excited about our two EDGE productions,” noted La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. “The work of Basil Twist is revered around the world, and his latest piece showcases his unique theatricality, centered on a fascinating, rarely-performed style of Japanese puppetry. At the other end of the spectrum, Les Freres Corbusier brings Playhouse audiences their hilarious reinvention of Herbert Hoover in a delightfully irreverent musical gem. Both of these new works perfectly illustrate the mission of the Playhouse’s EDGE series.”

Dogugaeshi
EDGE Series, Presented by the La Jolla Playhouse
June 10 – 14
Tickets: $30

Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre
2910 La Jolla Village Drive
(Located on the UCSD Campus via the Revelle Entrance)
Box Office: (858) 550-1010
Online: lajollaplayhouse.com