puppeteer

A puppeteer is someone who controls puppets for entertainment.

You might have seen a show or video with marionettes that move and dance on strings. A puppeteer is the person operating those strings from behind the scenes, making it look like the puppets are performing all by themselves. This person has to be skilled at timing their movements just right so that the puppets seem natural and engaging. Sometimes a puppeteer can work alone in front of a camera, but other times they'll perform live with an audience watching.