Cast-4

Meet the people behind the scenes. These are the folks that make the Fred and Susie episodes and create many of your favorite characters.

Cast: Production Team

David Popp

Producer/Director

David Popp is Fred and Susie's producer and director. He also is the chief script and song writer for the episodes. David has been both a high school English teacher and a magazine editor. He has also had extensive experience directing theater, as well as working in video, both in front of and behind the camera. David builds most of the sets and many of the puppets for the episodes.

Favorite thing: Making stuff and then making more stuff too!

Jill Kossow

Actress/Susie

Jill Kossow has a masters degree in vocal music and an extensive theater and performance background. In addition to her acting duties on Fred and Susie, Jill also assists in story creation for the episodes. She enjoys the makeup, costumes, character voices, and all of the other things that go into working on the episodes. She also loves cooking and being mommy to her three beautiful children.

Favorite thing: Gardening, singing, reading, and cooking

Chris Popp

Actor/Fred and Music Arranger

Chris Popp is the music engine behind the show. He is our lead puppeteer, and plays Fred and many of the other characters, Chris arranges most of the music for the episodes. He can play nearly any instrument, and many times, he is all the musicians in the Fred and Susie Band. He has also built many of the specialty puppets used in the episodes, including Fred, Lacey, Trixie the cow, Steve the crocodile, and the crabs.

Favorite thing: Working on his house and playing the drums

Ingrid Hanson-Popp

Production Coordinator

Ingrid Hanson-Popp coordinates the shooting schedule for the Fred and Susie Show, but she's also the business genius behind Dropped Pencil LLC. Without Ingrid's organizational skills and business sense, the Fred and Susie Show would never have completed its first episode. In addition to being a professional musician, Ingrid is also the chef behind Swedish Meals on the Run, Fred and Susie's favorite catering service.

Favorite thing: Reading (usually multiple books at once) and playing the piano

Craig Schneider

Graphic Designer/Puppeteer

Craig Schneider started on the show as our graphic designer, laying out all of the PDF pages and covers for the DVDs and other products. If it's a printed Fred and Susie product, Craig has worked on it. Starting with show 3, Craig has also moved into being one of our main puppeteers, and is now responsible for several key characters in our television series, including Edward, Sherman, and Pete.

Favorite thing: Playing with his daughter and golf, though not both at the same time

Karen Popp

Graphic Designer/Assistant puppeteer

Karen is a regular Fred and Susie production team member. She brings with her a graphic design background, and has helped with some of our product design projects. She also is one of our key floor assistants during filming, and has begun working as an assistant puppeteer, running right hands for various characters - including Fred and Kevin. In addition to her work on Fred and Susie, Karen is a veterinary surgical nurse.

Favorite thing: Gardening and working with animals