“Third or nothing!” chanted the wannabe wizards of Puff House during West Liberty High School’s production of “Puffs the Play,” Nov. 16-18, in the high school auditorium.
The zany, satirical, and very unauthorized production, that takes place alongside the events of Harry Potter, proclaims itself to be for anyone who has never been destined to save the world.
“Having the audience here and having that energy is really nice,” said Wesley Heath, who took on the role of the lovable leading loser of House Puff, Wayne Hopkins. “Seeing it come together at the end, I think everyone did really well.”
The crew included 23 students, 11 teacher cameos, parents and school staff, along with support from the fine arts booster club. Many community members donated their time to make the set come alive.
Clocking in at a little over two hours, Puffs relied heavily on the acting talents of the cast, making use of a singular, yet engaging, set that included four doors representing the four competing houses.
We, of course, were treated to the misadventures of the Puff House. The story followed the band of misfits as they grew closer over an eventful seven years at a certain wizard school alongside a certain wizard boy.
“I wanted to do a show that the students could have fun with and already had an idea of the background story,” said director Dorianne Rees. “Plus, who doesn't like cheering for the underdogs.”
Those underdogs included the energetic and unperturbed Cedric by Jacob Zeman, nerdy ne’er-do-well Oliver Rivers by Ambrose Eck, the poised and poignant narrator Isabelle Lugo and the severely sardonic Megan Jones by Xochitl Meraz.
The rest of the cast included Flynn Womachka, Madelyn Deahr, Madison Watson, Rowan Womachka, Jaylyn Burroughs, Tucker Womachka, El Womachka, Madelynne Becker, Tatum Hale, Zair Calderon and Hazel Hershbeger.
Auditions were held in September with the first practice beginning soon after. If there’s one thing you need to know about Puffs, it’s that there’s plenty of dialogue.
“When you stop and think about everything they have to memorize all while making sure they keep up with school work and their other extracurricular activities, what they accomplished is very impressive,” said dwirector Rees.
“I honestly couldn't be more proud,” she added. “The cast and the crew have put in so much work and I'm excited for them to show that off.”
The production emphasized the importance of the arts in West Liberty and how the community comes out to support its local artists. The wild night of wizardry highlighted the talents of West Liberty students.