Autobiography of the Puppeteer

Since 2003, I have been amazing audiences throughout Atlanta with my unique costume puppet and hand puppet characters, all of which I design and build myself.

Costume puppets are my specialty, and many of my characters leave people wondering if there could actually be a person inside the costume.  Performing in a style that is a throwback to the classic art of pantomime animal impersonation, I strive to have my characters act much like the real animals they are based on, but with the addition of a little cartoonish personality to make them well-rounded.  My menagerie of characters range from an arctic fox and billy goat that walk on all fours to a South African penguin who can swim in a pool, and include a lovable fruit bat with a seven-foot wing span and a seven-foot tall white stork!

My talents do go beyond costume puppets to include the realm of hand-and-rod and marionette puppets, and many a visitor to various local festivals and social events has been drawn to the magical antics of some of my close companions, like Savanna P. Fox, Scarlet the Macaw, and Flip-Flop the Lop Eared Bunny.  Since late 2016, I have been offering marionette character performances including Terrence Tarantula (seen below with me), and the life-size characters Little Stinker and Snowy the Snow Leopard.

Over the years, I have appeared at hundreds of events and venues around the Greater Atlanta area including the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Duluth Fall Festival, the Atlanta Parent Magazine Family Block Party, and the May-Retta Daze and Marietta Harvest Square festivals held on the Marietta Square.  My professional affiliations include the Atlanta Puppetry Guild, where I currently serve as the guild's webmaster, and the Guild's parent organization, Puppeteers of America.

Now, you might be wondering what makes Kevin Pittman and his Forest Friends special?  After all, there are plenty of options for entertainment in the Atlanta area, and even a number of possibilities for puppet entertainment.  Well, all of my characters are animals, which are not only a lot of fun to work with, but they have a very universal appeal - there is just something about animal characters that lets them connect with almost any person, young or old.

Second, I am completely original.  I design and build all of my puppet and costume characters, write my own stories and scripts and even the occasional song.  When I perform, I do all of my own character voices live, so I am able to adjust shows on the fly to fit a particular audience or location.  Best of all, by doing live voices, my characters can directly interact with an audience, asking questions and then responding appropriately to whatever answers the audience might provide.

So, if you're looking some good, clean fun that is a little different from the norm, then you have come to the right place.  You can rest assured that my performances are all family-friendly, and I do consider 'family' to include everyone.  While my shows are designed to be suitable for the youngest of children, I strive to also keep them enjoyable and interesting for my more mature audience members.

Please take a look around my website, and if you like what you see, do not hesitate to request additional information.  I am happy to provide more details about my work, and if you need something special, just ask.  I am always willing to consider designing custom programs to meet a customer's special needs.