The third show in the Illinois State University School of Theatre, Dance, and Film’s 2024-2025 season is Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, written by Matt Cox and directed by M.F.A in directing candidate Emily Grimany.
The story of Puffs is a story of underdogs, but not in the traditional sense. We, the audience, watch the story of a certain wizarding school from a different perspective—from the view of the side characters. The Puffs, are not the bravest, like the Braves. They are not the smartest, like the Smarts, and they are definitely not the richest or blondest like the Snakes.
What are they then? Well, you will just have to go to the show and find out. But in the meantime what we can say is that the characters in this badger-themed house represent the underdogs of their school.
In this story, we follow the story of Wayne Hopkins, whose actor, Dan White gives us a little insight into his plight: “Wayne is not a good wizard, by any stretch of the imagination. He spends a lot of time trying, and failing, to cast spells, coming up just short of his goal to be a hero (often curtailed by a certain other wizard boy, one with an interesting scar on his forehead, one we’re all familiar with). And the cherry on top, he finds himself in the Puffs, the underdog of the houses. Wayne Hopkins, the underdog of underdogs, has to find out what it truly means to be a hero through the seven years at a certain school of magic and magic, and boy is it a ride!”
According to White, Wayne’s goal is to be the hero and to use his abilities to defeat the bad guy and get the girl. In other words, he is set up to be the classic underdog story of the unlikely hero who rises above all odds to win at the end of the day. However, what truly makes Wayne the underdog is that his story is the one that goes untold. He is on the margins of his school and is overlooked time and time again.
As the director, Grimany, states, “We are all the heroes of our own stories,” and with Wayne, we experience the story of the forgotten told on stage for everyone to see. We should not stop with Wayne’s story, however. Instead, we need to think of ways that we can continue to tell the stories of the underdog, the stories of those who are left behind by society in our own communities. What can each of us do to lift the stories of those who are left in the margins, for all the Puffs in the world?
Puffs will be performed at the Westhoff Theatre on November 1-2 and 6-9 at 7:30 p.m. as well as on November 3 at 2 p.m. The runtime is approximately 110 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, online.
If you need accommodations to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
