The theater department’s first show of the year, “Puffs,” is showing Thursday. It’s showing Thursday and Friday Nov. 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. as well as Sunday, Nov. 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Tickets are available online for “Puffs” for $12 for adults and $7 for students.
The Harry Potter spinoff follows the untold story of the ‘puffs,’ a selection of students with nowhere else to go in a school of magic where it seems they are often forgotten. As the puffs go through the years of school, they struggle to learn magic, yet discover their friendship is all the magic they need.
“I think there was a lot of excitement for the show,” director Lauren Holt said. “It’s a farce of Harry Potter, and I think there’s a lot of fun in it as well as some nostalgia for a lot of people.”
The cast list came out two months ago, and the cast has rehearsed in class to polish the production.
“I love everybody so much,” stage manager Dylan Boyd said. “We all work together very well. The cast is so fun to work with. The crew is super happy about their jobs, and they’re so good at their jobs. It’s just a very fun environment to be in.”
Senior Jeremiah Williams plays the main character in the show, Wayne Hopkins. Hopkins has been knocked down by tough challenges year after year but always seems to get back up.
“[Wayne’s] very lively, if that makes sense,” Williams said. “Some moments he goes into a really deep depression. Though, he always comes back like, “Hi, how are you? Oh, you’re doing good. That’s amazing!” [He] just has mixed emotions sometimes.”
Holt describes the strengths and weaknesses as well as the struggles of getting the show ready.
“It’s fast-paced, it’s comedic [and] it engages an audience,” Holt said. “It can also be the weak point, though — if you don’t know how to have comedic timing and make sure things are coming on and off the stage in a reasonable way. It can also get muddy because there’s so many scenes and entrances and exits to just really define and make those things clear as we’re working through it so the audience understands what’s happening.”
With a large number of characters in this show, the director saw an opportunity for something great.
“So, I loved the energy in the fun of this show,” Holt said. “I also knew it offered possibilities for larger casting to include more people in our classroom.”
