“The Araneidae Show and Other Pieces” showgirls, lonely streets, cats, deconstructing theaters, sex, despair, magic, metamorphosis, and the fragile web of illusion sometimes called “reality” — and brought early attention to Basil Twist, a third-generation puppeteer, he sole American to graduate from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mezieres, France, and the winner of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” Award. He is the head of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at HERE in NYC.