Annaliese Pfeiffer is an undergraduate director and puppet creator at Carnegie Mellon University whose work is driven by spectacle and wonder. She is constantly finding ways to push the limit in terms of scale, creativity, and endurance, using these categories to redefine what is known to be possible in the art of storytelling. Her artistic practice centers on creating bold visual worlds for anyone at any age.

In April 2026, she directed The Little Prince by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar, the first puppet-forward Carnegie Mellon Capstone production in recent history. The project sparked a ripple effect across the university, fostering new conversations, classes, and educational pathways focused on puppetry within the school community. 

In December 2025, she created an 8.5-foot parade puppet designed to be fully operated by a single performer, unveiled in a walking demonstration titled The Undead Wedding, which focused on the challenge of height and outdoor performance. From 2023 to 2025, Annaliese designed twelve puppets: hand, rod, and sock across three productions for Carnegie Mellon’s Playground Festival for Student Work. These characters ranged from a scheming Master of Ceremonies to a washed-up child star. 

From February 2022 through August 2025, she worked as an Actor/Vocalist and Character Performer for United Parks & Entertainment at Sesame Place Philadelphia, hosting and performing in multiple shows, dines, dance parties, and parades daily for hundreds of guests. Over three years, she brought fifteen different characters to life, developing: stamina, precision, and an interest in large-scale entertainment and audience engagement.

Her ultimate goal is to make the impossible possible by building moments of breathtaking spectacle and to bring these feats of performance and showmanship to theme parks, cruise ships, and beyond.