This fall, Northside’s theater department put on its very own production of the play Puffs, an off-Broadway production that takes place at a magical wizard school and focuses on the “Puffs,” who are often considered the least important house.

The lead role of Wayne Hopkins was played by Northside senior Charlie Duggan, who described his character as wanting “to be the hero really badly, but he just can’t help but be a side character.” As many cast members mentioned, the process of creating the show was time-consuming but rewarding, as they worked to make the magic that happens on and off the stage. 

Northside’s Stage Crew played a very big role in the process of putting on the play, Co-President Liz Worley noted, “We basically do everything that goes into the show, besides the actual acting, of course. We build all the sets, get all the props. During the show, we are backstage, moving the props, moving the sets to where they need to go. We also program all the lighting and sound effects for the whole show.”

Working behind the scenes to produce Puffs was a great deal of work, but it was worth it, as Liz explained, “I did a lot of performing arts when I was younger, so I understand how fun it is to be on stage and how meaningful it is, and getting to be a part of that is really important to me.”

Charlie found Puffs to be different from past Northside productions he has been a part of due to its “comedic timing” and the fact that it “moves very quickly.” He learned a great deal from the show, saying, “It’s a different type of acting compared to what I’ve done before,” as he had only been in past musicals and never been involved in the Fall Play.

This year, he felt drawn to audition for this role due to his emotional connection with the story: “Since I was a freshman, I knew I wasn’t going to do the play unless it was Puffs because I saw this play with my family years ago in New York when it was off Broadway, and I just loved it so much.” He hopes the audience “[enjoyed] the story as much as he did.”

The cast, crew, and stage work immensely hard to put the production together. Co-Director Ms. Doherty described the cast as open-minded and silly, similar to the overall mood of the production. She said, “I think my favorite thing is seeing how much students grow into their roles over the course of our production and seeing them form bonds together and really work as an ensemble.” Ms. Doherty also admired that the cast was “willing to take risks and try new things,” an important skill to have when putting on a show. Ms. Doherty added, “The crew has done an amazing job at creating props and organizing designs and backstage elements.”

The show ran in the Northside theater from Thursday, November 13, to Sunday, November 16. Many students, teachers, and families were in attendance and enjoyed the silly, quirky show. Northside Junior Chelsea Breen remarked, “It was a fun and exciting show to watch,” and she was “glad [she] made the decision to go see it.”