Puffs

Performed April 2021

Making of Mainstage Documentary

Poster

Design by Oliver Parson

A Note from the Directors

      Now let’s get one thing straight- I am 100% a Ravenclaw, my co-director identifies as Slytherin…but this year, we have never felt more like Puffs.  
      Amidst a pandemic, my perfectionist spirit was beaten and broken from constantly changing Covid protocols to sudden shut downs and multiple cancelations of this very show. Suddenly my merry band of misfits and I were learning firsthand how important it is to fail, and fail…and fail. Because failure really is just another form of practice, and all of those failed attempts at making it to an opening night made our cast and crew embody the common characteristic of the classic Puff--the optimistic underdogs who never fail to get up when they are pushed down. We became a group of badger-loving, underappreciated misfits who make it to opening night even if it takes 6 months, 3 re-stagings, constantly interchanging understudy’s, stand ins, date changes and students picking up new roles each week and taking on responsibilities or lines of quarantined castmates(and directors! Yikes!). We’ve been through it all! And it hasn’t been easy, but this cast endured through loyalty to one another, teamwork, and perseverance in the face of failure that could only come from a Puff. Even when it felt insurmountable or impossible, these kids saw it through to the end and we could not be more proud of them. 
      Puffs is a story about the Hufflepuffs throughout the seven years of Hogwarts. If you are a fan of the books, as myself and my co-director are, you know that we rarely focus on this house throughout the series. While Puffs can be the butt of many a joke, they are there when it counts most. In a story where everyone else seems to get the attention, the Puffs teach us how important it is to not get lost in other’s glory and remember that we truly are the hero in our own story. In a year like no other, I think we could all take some helpful advice from the Puffs, so I’ve made this handy checklist to help you live your life like a Puff:

• ​Nap. Do it often. Be excited about napping. Napping is awesome.​
• Badgers! Get a badger! Badgers are great!
• Always bunk really close to the kitchen, you never know when you’ll need to snack. 
• Failure is a part of life. Its how we learn. Give yourself a break. Then get back up.
• We are at our best when we ban together in support of each other. Loyalty is key.

Production Photos

"Heroes. Made. Not born. Except, sometimes...they are born. On a gloomy night, in a far away, magical land called: England."
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For seven years a certain boy wizard went to a certain Wizard School and conquered evil. This, however, is not his story. This is the story of the Puffs...who just happened to be there too. A tale for anyone who has never been destined to save the world.

--Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, Matt Cox

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Lord of the Flies