As soon as the school week ends, many students go home for the weekend, to nearby food places around the school or to Lane Stadium, leaving the school building relatively quiet in the hours after the 3:15 bell rings. But, on the evening of Oct. 15, laughter could be heard echoing through the auditorium for two hours, as Lane students on stage fired off one-liner after one-liner, sporting wands and capes tied over jeans and T-shirts. 

This laughter came from this year’s fall play production, “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic,” a play written by Matt Cox that parodies the Harry Potter series. The play follows the perspective of the students of the Puffs House, the satirical version of the original Hufflepuff house, at a fictitious school of “Magic and Magic.” 

“We had done Shakespeare the last couple years, and then in the middle of that there was a pandemic,” said Molly Meacham, drama teacher and director of the fall play. “So I wanted one that was lively, funny in parts, touching in parts, and this seemed like a good idea.” 

The plot follows three main friends: Wayne (Ella Schultz & John “Jack” Olech), Megan (Charlotte Gilbreth & Coco Jones) and Oliver (Kieran Bailey & Vince Parente). Wayne, an orphan from New Mexico, is invited to “a far away magical land called England,” where he meets the other two students as they are sorted into the Puffs house. 

The audience sees a more lighthearted and satirical take on the events of the original Harry Potter series, as the three Puffs, along with the rest of their house, navigate seven years at the magical school.

“This show is a very fast-moving show,” said Amy Hernandez, who was part of the Friday afternoon/Saturday night cast as Sally Perks and Myrtle. 

“A lot of the comedy really heavily relies on how fast you go, so everyone has to be on point with their lines in order to make it actually funny,” Hernandez said. 

Doing comedies also can be more stressful, according to Sam Rockrohr, who played Cedric and Mr. Voldy Friday afternoon and Saturday night.

“It’s more nerve-racking, because if people don’t laugh I feel like I have failed,” Rockrohr said with a laugh. “But I enjoy it more than doing something serious because it feels like there’s more audience interaction.”

The audience definitely stayed upbeat and engaged throughout the performance, cheering as actors danced to “Lovefool” by The Cardigans during the Yule Ball scene, and laughing as Oliver (played by Kieran Bailey on Friday afternoon) argued with “Ron Weasley,” or the red-haired mop in his hand. 

“I thought [the audience’s reaction] was hilarious,” said Ella Schultz, who played Wayne Hopkins at the Friday afternoon show. —

“At one point when they started cheering when J Finch died, I was like ‘What is going on?’ and I started almost laughing with them cause I was like ‘This is so cute that people actually care,’” said Schultz.

Students practiced for “Puffs” since the first day of school, meeting every day for 2 to 4 hours and practicing with dance and fight choreographers, according to Meacham.

“It is a big commitment, but if you want to do shows this size with this amount of dancing and falling and everything else, then it’s worth the time you put into it,” said Meacham.