An Alternative Harry Potter - Ellix Simons

Puffs: a play narrating the adventures of a group of nobodies at a certain school of magic. In case you couldn’t tell, Puffs is based on the wizarding world of Harry Potter. However, since the Harry Potter franchise is copyrighted and guarded with an iron fist, the creators of Puffs had to avoid using any copyrighted material to retell the story. Instead of focusing on the boy who lived, they focus on another random boy. This boy is named Wayne and he went to Hogwarts with Harry Potter. However, he was sorted into Hufflepuff (the Puffs). The Puffs are known for being clueless and a wee bit airheaded. They aren’t exactly the best at anything. I'm currently in a production of Puffs, hence my decision to talk about the show. From this point on, expect spoilers for both Puffs: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic by Matt Cox and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling (we don’t support her in this post or anywhere else).

https://www.amazon.com/Puffs-Two-Act-Matt-Cox/dp/1729410707

Avoiding Copyright with Comedy

    One of the first patterns you notice in the play is the distinct naming of the characters. Since many characters are also in the Harry Potter series, they have to be addressed with just their first, just their last name, or a comedic nickname. Puffs is a mostly comedic play, so Cox often leans toward the latter option. Most notably, Voldemort is known as Mr. Voldy. Some of the teachers include A Certain Potions Teacher (Severus Snape), Professor Turban (Quirinus Quirrell), Professor Locky (Gilderoy Lockhart), Real Mr. Moody (Alastor Moody), and Professor McG (Minerva McGonagall). Hagrid is also known as A Very Tall Man. Along with avoiding the wrath of J.K. Rowling, these nicknames add to the comedy of the show. Hearing Voldemort referred to as "Mr. Voldy" takes away from the intimidation he gathered in the Harry Potter series, and instead puts him into a comedic role. 

https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-hilarious-voldemort-memes/ 

References to the Harry Potter Series

    The creator of Puffs includes gallons of references to the original series, turning them into comedic moments rather than serious plot points. For example, Mr. Voldy leaves his first main scene by saying “Great! Now, I’m off to kill a baby!” (Cox 78). Referring to the plan for Harry’s attempted murder, Voldy still turns it into a comedic line, walking off stage after a flashback to the 1981 “Dark Lord’s Blood Boogie Dance Jam” (Cox 78). 

Some other examples include:

    Ginny and Wayne interact briefly, referring to when Ginny flushes her diary down Myrtle’s toilet in the second Harry Potter book:

WAYNE HOPKINS: Hey, don’t forget your diary.

GINNY: NOOOO! WHAT WILL IT MAKE ME DO NEXT?!

WAYNE HOPKINS: Hey, if it’s so bad who don’t you just put it somewhere no one will ever find it? Like a toilet or something? (Cox 28).

https://www.hp-lexicon.org/thing/diary-of-tom-riddle/

    Wayne and his friends are going to their various classes, and see Granger in all three (Cox 34). They realize she must be using magic. The Hermiones (called “Hermeoones” in Puffs) then bump into each other and leave (Cox 34-35). In the third Harry Potter book, Hermione uses a time turner to get to all of her classes.

    J. Finch attempts the spell “Olive Gardium Leviosa,” but Sally Perks corrects him, saying “No. It’s Olive Gardium Leviosahh” (Cox 21). In the Harry Potter series, Hermione is constantly correcting everyone on how to say spells, including her specific pronunciation of “leviosa.”

Stupidity and Failure  

    Two defining traits of members of the Puff house are stupidity and incompetence. They’re also meek and avoid conflict, especially towards the beginning of the play. During the Three Wizard Tournament (changed from the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter), the Puffs chant “CEDRIC CEDRIC HE’S OUR MAN IF HE CAN’T DO IT WE’LL STILL BE HAPPY WE HAD THIS CHANCE! GO CEDRIC!” (Cox 48). They want him to do well, but feel that he won’t be able to because he’s a Puff. They’re just happy to be there, and are not used to being involved in competitions like the tournament. They also have no idea how to make a catchy cheer for their prefect. 

    Even into their fifth year of school, the Puffs still can’t perform simple tasks, usually making a fool out of themselves as a result. For example, in the stage directions, four characters are instructed to “try to four-person high five but instead hit each other and all fall to the ground again” (Cox 66). The idea that they manage to fall over after slapping each other is ridiculous, and plays directly into the themes of comedy and stupidity throughout the play. It also adds to the idea of failure, which is emphasized often when it comes to the Puffs.

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/35azre

    The Puffs have a recurring line that goes like this: “We are not a threat. Please, be our friend? We are not a threat. Please, be our friend?” (Cox 14). Whenever danger lurks a little too close to the Puffs, they get into one of their emergency formations, chanting these lines over and over again. It usually turns into a huddle in the Puff common room, terrified of what will happen next. Obviously walking in a cluster asking for friendship won’t deter any enemy, but they feel they can’t do anything else. They’re terrible at magic and never win anyway.

    However, the production I'm in changed this line to “we are a threat, you are not our friend” during the battle scene at the end of the show. They are fighting off Mr. Voldy's army, and have grown in confidence and skill throughout the play. While they are still scared (and lose the battle in the end), the Puffs have grown close as a group and want to avenge those they’ve lost. In the original script, “upon being told to leave the Great Hall for evacuation… it was a Puff who stood up first” (Cox 87). The Puffs want to prove that they are worth something, and feel that fighting is the way to do it. They decide to die for each other, and have embraced the idea of failure which they previously despised.

Casting

    Puffs is purposely written for the majority of the cast to play multiple roles. For example, I play J. Finch Fletchley, Uncle Dave, Goyle, A Fat Friar, Clumsy Longbottom, Viktor, Mr. Bagman, and Zach Smith. Many of the teachers are played by the same few people, and the same actor plays Cedric and Mr. Voldy. Because of the amount of characters played by the same person, there are often quick changes, even changes on stage. The costuming is somewhat simple, but it still makes the show quite chaotic. There are almost always lots of people on stage, and I rarely have time when I’m not doing anything (even if that's just running around backstage to get to my next entrance).

    Usually I've only played one role in shows, so constantly changing characters is challenging and interesting. Not only do we have to memorize lines, but we also have to remember who’s saying them and how that character acts and speaks. For example, I go straight from Uncle Dave, a drunk uncle in New Mexico, to J. Finch, a British and self-described “boyish and fun” Puff (Cox 5). Uncle Dave tends to swagger around, usually holding a drink of some sort. However, J. Finch is constantly skipping everywhere. I also have to say a few lines as Goyle in the middle of this switch (Uncle Dave, then Goyle, then J. Finch).

Improv and Choices

    Most plays have one option for every line in the script. Many plays don’t allow for improv, feeling that it may take away from the moment. However, Puffs has both. The entire show is basically meant to be a chaotic mess, and comedy is highly emphasized. Every now and then, the creator leaves several different options for a single line, letting actors pick which one they want to say. For example, A Certain Potions Teacher asks the class what a potion is. After a few answers, the actor for Leanne has a few options: 

• “LEANNE: (OPTION 1) It’s a starchy root vegetable!

A CERTAIN POTIONS TEACHER: That’s… a po-tato” (Cox 10).

• “LEANNE: (OPTION 2): It’s the head of the Catholic Church!

A CERTAIN POTIONS TEACHER: That’s… the Po-pe” (Cox 10).

• “LEANNE: (OPTION 3) It’s that dance where everyone is a train! Choo choo!

A CERTAIN POTIONS TEACHER: That’s… the loco-motion” (Cox 11).

• LEANNE: (OPTION 4): It’s the water that surrounds all the continents!

A CERTAIN POTIONS TEACHER: That is still the Ocean…” (Cox 11).

• LEANNE: (OPTION 5) It’s that stuff that smells good!”

A CERTAIN POTIONS TEACHER: That’s… Po-tpourri” (Cox 11).

   Options are a rare occurrence in other plays, and allows for the actor to make choices that best fit the vibes of the production they’re in. Sometimes lines just don’t fit or people in the audience wouldn’t find them funny. 

    A scene later on in the show features a character named Zach Smith. He’s running tryouts for an inconspicuous sports team. However, he’s a bit of a meanie. His actor is allowed to make up a completely random story that lasts for a few minutes. The stage instructions state, “what follows here can be anything. Literally anything. Any sort of crazy story” (Cox 72). The actor has more freedom than a scripted ramble (though examples are provided). It also lets the actor include jokes that people in their audience may understand, or better fit the monologue to the cast. I have the honor of playing the man, the myth, the legend, Zach Smith. So far during rehearsal, I’ve done rants about refried beans from 1921, the Mona Lisa, Barbie’s Life in the Nightmare House, a lost love, a story about a tape dispenser in ears, and going to the grocery store to find no gluten-free bread. Being able to tell so many different stories is a new and fun experience, and I look forward to coming up with more stories.

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Puffs is a unique show, and while I could keep blabbing about various aspects of it, I should cut off my blog post here. From the casting and improv choices to references to the Harry Potter series, Puffs is a chaotic but interesting comedy. If you’d like to come see what I’ve been discussing, the production I’m in will be performing on June 3rd and 4th at 7:00pm and June 5th at 2:30pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/747101216466399/747101223133065/?ref=newsfeed. 

Thank you for reading my blog posts this year! I hope you have a snazztastic rest of your day!

- Ellix :]