A wacky play based on an imaginative wizarding world titled “Puffs” might leave audiences with an unrelenting smile on their faces in Athens soon.
Beginning Saturday, the Lost Flamingo Theatre Company, Ohio University's first student-run theater company, is performing its own production of “Puffs.” This will be the company’s second show of the semester, following “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in October.
The show follows three “potential heroes” adventuring through a magic school, states Youngstown Playhouse. This school, as described in the play’s subtitle, is a “certain school of magic and magic.”
The “Puffs” universe is based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. However, the show is not the same as the well-known saga, Chloe Dixon, the show’s director and a junior studying art therapy, said.
“It's totally different,” Dixon said. “It's comedy. It's way funnier, and I think, yes, it's based in the same universe, but it's totally different … the characters are far more lovable, in my opinion.”
Referring to Harry Potter’s character, the play’s description states, “This, however, is not his story.”
The charm of “Puffs” lies partly in the small cast. With more roles than cast members, several actors play multiple characters.
Kyle Bosscher, a junior studying media arts production, is an actor in the show. Bosscher said their main role is J. Finch Fletchley and balancing all of the roles is challenging, but exciting.
“I have all of these roles I have to think about,” Bosscher said. “Then I have to create unique voices … I have to bring something different to each and every role and differentiate it enough between all of these roles so the audience isn't like, ‘That's that guy again!’ So that's really the fun that I've had throughout this entire show, being an ensemble member.”
Julia Poppe, a freshman studying integrated science education, said “Puffs” is her first show double-casted, and she has grown from the experience.
“Running on stage as one character and then…putting on a scarf and running on with a completely different accent and a completely different vibe was something that really drew me towards ‘Puffs,’” Poppe said. “I really saw that as a way to challenge myself as an actress and get more experience in that.”
The cast has been rehearsing since the third week of the semester, growing closer throughout the process. Poppe said the “Puffs” exist outside the theater.
“Anytime we interact with any other people in LFC, we are the ‘Puffs,’" Poppe said. “We go everywhere together. We do everything together. If one person is there, there's probably three others behind them.”
The cast strives for their bond to translate on stage, especially through the chemistry and interactions between characters. Over the course of the show, the characters grow closer, just as the cast did, Poppe said.
“It literally happened in our rehearsal space,” Poppe said. “We literally started as nobodies. We didn't know each other … We all went through that 'Puff' story, and now we are here. And I feel like the audiences are really going to be able to see that transition in real time and connect a lot to it.”
Community is not the only aspect of “Puffs” that may draw the audience in. The show’s script also leaves room for improv.
“You can tell the script writers had a lot of fun with the show,” Bosscher said. “There’s a lot of lines in the show where there's a little aside that says, ‘Or whatever you really want to.’ There’s a lot of lines that characters have thrown in.”
Poppe said there are five pages in the backs of the scripts dedicated to line changes and improv for the show. Improv plays a large role in making the show stand out, Dixon said.
“It's something else to be able to call this show mine,” Dixon said. “Last night, I saw it with the lights for the first time. I was standing in the back of the audience, and my stage manager was like, ‘Are you okay?’ … 'No, I'm just overwhelmed with emotion right now because I am so incredibly happy that it's working.'”
Dixon said with the show having a lower budget compared to larger theaters, they and the rest of the creative team had to be innovative and thoughtful about portraying the show’s message and setting the stage.
“It's going to be a pretty bare-boned stage,” Bosscher said. “There'll be really great lights. You'll see a lot of props thrown on and thrown off, but, at the end of the day, it's just us actors on that stage. There's really nothing else to really look at.”
Despite the small-scale production, Dixon said, “Puffs’” message is still clear.
“I think being able to see yourself on stage is a really big part of ‘Puffs,’” Dixon said. “I want the audience to walk out not only being like, ‘Wow, that was a really funny show. My stomach hurts from laughing,’ but also, ‘I took something away from that, and maybe I learned a little something about myself along the way.’ I think that's what's important about it.”
“Puffs” is showing Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Arts West at 132 W. State St. Tickets are $5 and cash only at the door.
“I think that what the show really says is that everyone's important; even you in the corner, your story, it's still important,” Bosscher said.
