If you weren’t lucky enough to make it to the Shaler Area High School auditorium in mid-November, here’s a recap, and some behind the scenes takes, on the successful and charming comedy “Puffs”. Directed by Mrs. Anne Loudon, “Puffs” was a story about seven increasingly eventful years at a certain school for wizards.
If you’re familiar with a story about another certain wizard, forget about him. This story isn’t about him, and instead focuses on the people who just so happened to be there too: the Puffs. For three months, the cast and crew of this play worked extremely hard to create their own beautiful wizarding world.
The work in the green room, also known as the hair, makeup, and costuming department, was praised among the cast and crew. They worked diligently behind the scenes, and helped with some of the fastest quick changes in any of Shaler Area’s plays.
“I had a great green room helper, Emily. Emily was the one who helped me with my quick changes, and she would run my stuff back and forth. Before we started running it, I was so scared that it wasn’t going to work out, but then she managed to get them over to me every single time,” senior Erin Raymond said.
Another key aspect to the entire production of the show is the crew. Whether working backstage or in the booth, everything they do is crucial to putting on a fantastic show, and this year they went above and beyond.
“We have Nick on sound solely by himself. We have hundreds and hundreds of sound cues, and he’s sitting there with the script and he’s cuing every single sound cue. They’re always on time and they’re always accurate. Then we have Andrew, who is fully operating every single mic on and off for every single line. They have that skill level and it’s insane, truly insane, what they do up there and nobody knows,” senior Sophia Trgovic said.
However, a slip-up is bound to happen when it comes to live theater and “Puffs” was no exception. The show contained a few slip-ups, and they were actually quite funny. Some crew members being caught up in the smoke machine, everyone walking backstage in pitch black when the lights did not work, and even a twenty second lull on opening night are just a few amusing occurrences. Everyone had an entertaining mishap to share.
“I know one scene I pull Tyler through the door. I forgot to open the door one time and smacked him right into the door. But then, we made it a bit, and so every single show he ran into the door and then we shoved him through the door. There was a mistake, and then we made it a bit,” Trgovic said.
When asked about a favorite character and what made that character memorable, there were many thoughtful answers, but one stuck out that helped to share a life lesson of the play as a whole.
“Ironically, mine would have to be Megan. Not even just how [Sophia Trgovic] portrayed her, but just even as a whole. The amount of development, even within the first year that she does, is beyond insane. She goes from this very quiet, angsty teenager, and by the end she has a kid with the guy that she was just randomly friends with,” senior Meghan O’Neill said.
Back in May, the cast list was finally structured together. Everyone was antsy during the summer, just waiting for that second week of school to start working on “Puffs”. When the time came, the cast and crew sprung into action. As everyone reflects, they think on the memories that were made and the relationships that were formed.
“No matter how like upset or frustrated you get at that point, in the end, you’re still extremely satisfied with the ending product. And like, you understand that everyone came together and did it and it’s like you’re so proud of them too. Yes, I feel like it really is a family,” Raymond said.
