The Advanced Drama and Tech Theatre classes performed their rendition of “Puffs: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic” by Matt Cox as the fall play. The show was a phenomenal success, enjoyed by staff, students, and families alike. It took place in the Performing Arts Center on campus from Oct. 8-10.
The spin on the Hufflepuff house of Hogwarts took place over six years, following the story of Wayne (sophomore Peter Cooke), an orphaned boy with a similar backstory to that of Harry Potter’s looking to be sorted into the Gryffindor house of bravery in hopes of becoming a hero. The catch? Upon facing the Sorting Hat, Wayne is put into the Puff’s house, which he perceives as inferior to the other houses because of the Puffs’ reputation for being naive and stupid.
The curtains draw to reveal the stoic narrator in a gray suit (sophomore Zubin Bhatia), setting the stage for a thrilling journey into Hogwarts’ most overlooked house — the Hufflepuffs. With magical scenes filled with references to wizardry and witchcraft, the fall play’s ensemble showed that being a “Puff” is more than enough. Even the least likely wizards have a story to tell.
In his journey of accepting his identity as a Puff and being a student at an unfamiliar magic school, Wayne makes lifelong friends. In particular, Megan (senior Sofia Chavez) and Oliver (senior Jay Shin) help him discover what being a Puff means; the Puffs’ bravery, kindness, and empathy overshadow their outward lack of competitiveness.
“We didn’t have high expectations at first because not all of us were familiar with Harry Potter and the script didn’t seem like something we could entertain an audience with,” Chavez said. “However, when we started actually acting it out and finding the flow of the story, we made it our own.”
The play is filled with humorous comments and often expresses disdain toward J.K. Rowling’s character, Harry Potter. The characters in “Puffs” frequently poke fun at her unrealistic level of “plot armor,” addressing the absurdity of Potter’s constant victories in the original work.
In addition to the stellar acting, the set design and technical elements took the show to another level with dynamic stage effects. From flying props to a long scroll of spells and lighting elements that represented the vibrant blues, greens, yellows and reds of each Hogwarts house, Tech Theatre students put on a show for the audience to remember, relying on combining the whimsical nature of the story with the techniques that they used to elevate the show’s ability to captivate the audience.
“Tech is really a necessary part of production,” sophomore Coco Marshall said, “because there’s so many different aspects of it because they can do lighting, they can do mics, they take care of costumes or even hair and makeup.”
Ultimately, “Puffs” gave a heartwarming and hilarious look at one of the most underrated houses at Hogwarts, wooing audiences with the show’s wit, creativity and unique perspective on Hufflepuffs.
