Students Bring Fall Drama, Puffs, to Life

On the production, Martinez commented in his Director's Note:
What makes this show so exciting for us to take on is not only its immense ask of props, costumes, characters (see below), lights, sets, and silly sound cues, but its extreme love for utilizing the performer to his or her greatest extent. Complete with enough high-octane absurdity, in-the-know references, and some surprisingly somber moments as well, Puffs has as much to say about growing up as an angsty, conflicted teenager in the 90s as it does about Harry Potter as a series.

Per usual, our entire student cast and crew has worked tirelessly to present this final production to you, and we could not be prouder of their efforts. Every inch of this show was handled and led by students by way of performance, construction, and technological handling. As such, we hope you enjoy this show as much as we enjoyed preparing it.

MEET THE CAST:

• Narrator: Nate Paul
• Wayne Hopkins: Brandon Cordero
• Megan Jones: Kara Castano
• Oliver Rivers: Vinny Ball
• Ernie Mac/A Fat Friar/Ghost History Teach: Noah Lopez
• J. Finch Fletchley/Hermeoone #3: Christian Quinones
• Leanne/Ms. Babble: Shyla Thomas
• Susie Bones/Harry/Hermeoone #2/Xavia Jones: Lilah Tremmel
• Sally Perks/Blondo Malfoy/Bippy: Alexa Leiva-Carrasco
• Cedric/Mr. Voldy: Jake Byrne
• Zach Smith/A Certain Potions Teacher/Professor Locky: Ethan DeJesus
• Sorter Hat/Bippy: Matteo Foley
• Ric Gryff/Sports Voiceover/DJ Voiceover: Kamau Cumberbatch
• A Very Tall Man/Viktor: Giancarlo Merizalde
• Goyle: Michael Allen
• Seamus/Death Buddy #1: Ben Samuel
• Anthony Goldstein: Kai Kenworthy
• Sal/Clumsy Longbottom: Cameron Bonanno
• Professor Lanny/Rowena/Frenchy: Samia Bruno
• Professor Turban/Uncle Dave: Joe Mikula
• Mr. Bagman/Runes Teach: Charbel Abdelnour
• Professor Sprouty/Helga/Rita Scooter: Lucy Guallpa
• First Headmaster/Real Mr. Moody/Colin: Tommy Cannizzo
• Hannah/Professor McG/Ginny: Sia Kenworthy
• Death Buddies: Matteo Foley, Kamau Cumberbatch, Giancarlo Merizalde, Michael Allen, Ben Samuel, Kai Kenworthy, Cameron Bonanno, Joe Mikula, Charbel Abdelnour, Tommy Cannizzo
• Soul-Sucking Security Guards: Kamau Cumberbatch, Matteo Foley, Charbel Abdelnour

FALL DRAMA SUPPORT

• Director: Andrew Martinez
• Wardrobe: Heather Barnitt
• Costume Assistants: Maddie Bonarrigo, Pablo Schielke
• Set Design & Construction: Brian Sosa, Peter Ford, Theater Arts I & II Students
• Scenic Design: Linda Schiesser
• Lighting Design: Brian Sosa
• Lighting Technicians: Finola Giblin, Juan Artal
• Stage Manager: Brandon Tomeo
• Prop Construction: Joe Mikula
• Prop Assistants: Aidan Walters, Michael Aiosa
• Assistant Stage Managers: Alex Foley, Alex Aiosa
• Sound Technicians: John Raso, Brayden Kijanka, Josh Hamilton, Aidan Doran
• Stage Crew: Aidan Walters, Mario Aviles, Sal Mehalaris, Jack Corcoran, Dylan Antonio, Zebong Tikum, James Nettune
• Program Design: Matthew Berman
• Special Thanks: Michael Gallo, Msgr. Michael Kelly, Peter Durning, Mike Neglia, Toni & Javier Martinez, Tricia Walters, Christopher Barnitt, Michael Zinnsmeister, We’ve Got Friends, Vinny McMahon

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE PRODUCTION

ABOUT PUFFS
Beginning as a passion project for a group of like-minded comedians, Puffs started as a low-budget, Off-Off-Broadway production at the People’s Improv Theater in Chelsea, where it ran until being picked up as a commercial Off-Broadway production at the Elektra Theater. For two years it enjoyed success before being transferred to New World Stages in Midtown, where it broke almost every ticket sales record at that venue for an additional two years before finally closing. The prevailing thought of Puffs conception was the idea: “It would've been really terrible to be another student at that particular magic school whenever Harry was there.” Your thought after seeing our show in response to that idea will probably be “yea, that pretty much sums it up.”