The charming and lovable students of Hufflepuff House come to life in the play, Puffs. The parody of Harry Potter does a wonderful job of representing the side characters in a way that can touch many young people who feel like they spend life on the sidelines just like Hufflepuffs. The play is set at the same time as Harry Potter, but gives the viewer a completely different perspective of the books and movies.
In the original Harry Potter series, Hufflepuffs are seen as simply “friendly” and “loyal” with no complexity. They’re filler characters and are often forgotten about, but through Puffs, these students are shaped to have real emotions like disappointment, determination, and even some bravery. The viewer experiences their hopes and dreams around the main plot of each year at Hogwarts.
The theater department’s sets are outstanding. As the narrator voiced the changes in the scenes, behind her the sets would rotate to fit her description. There were also projected images of each house animal: a raven, a griffin, a serpent and a badger. But the badger was projected for almost the entirety of the play. The other images were of the moving paintings that are incorporated a lot in Harry Potter’s journey, but not so much the Puffs’. They were, however, aesthetically pleasing and belonged for the sort remarks that were made about them.
Costuming was mostly accurate to the original story, but during the show on Nov. 23, the Puff characters were dressed in Slytherin robes while the other nights their costumes had the correct patches. While behind the scenes there could have been a malfunction, the mishap contributed to the story that Puffs are often misunderstood and it was a comical juxtaposition as the Slytherin characters are known to be “mean.”
To be a part of this show, actors must master the “quick change” and be able to play more than one character at once. These actors were spirited and multitalented, pulling off multiple roles with a variety of styles that helped give the show color. However, it seems that some roles were reduced to props, as Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger were mops. While comedic, it demonstrates that there may be more student involvement needed in order to put on productions.
Overall the production of Puffs by the theater department was delightfully comedic with beautiful sets that appear to have had a lot of thought put in. Christopher Krappe, a freshman exercise science major, commented “I thought it was corny sometimes, but that’s what made it fun. It’s nice to have this kind of thing so close to finals to give students a break from studying.”
Photo Credits: Vanja Bogdanovic
