Kevin Pittman and his Forest Friends: About Me

About Me

Since 2003, I have been amazing audiences throughout Atlanta with my unqiue costume-puppet animal characters that often 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 bring my characters to life in a manner that replicates how the real animals they are based on would actually move about. My ever-growing menagerie includes a life-like giant tarantula, a quadruped (walking on all fours) billy goat, a strong and coniving red-tailed hawk, a friendly three-hundred-year-old British dragon, a wily and bouncy little red fox, a hyperactive little squirrel, a South African penguin who can actually go for a swim in a pool, and even a seven-foot tall white stork!

My talents do go beyond costume puppets to include the realm of hand-and-rod puppets, and many a crowd has been drawn into the magical antics of some of my close companions, like Savannah P. Fox, Sheldon P. Foxworthy, Rocket J. Raccoon, and Flip-Flop the Lop Eared Bunny. I also do fully-staged half-hour puppet shows, which are perfect for birthday parties and social events.

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, Children's Heatlhcare Festival of Trees, 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 newsletter editor and 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 different possibilities for puppet entertainment. The most unique aspect of my puppetry work is that all of my characters are animals. I find that animal characters 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.

Another special aspect to my performances is that I am essentially a one-man show - I design and build all of my puppet and costume characters, write my own stories and scripts, direct my shows, build props and staging, handle lighting and sound, and even write 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 engage an audience, asking questions and then responding appropriately to whatever answers my 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.

Back to the Main Page