Harry Potter, a franchise known in almost every household, has caught the attention of our school theatre program, as they take on the parody version of this iconic series in Puffs, which follows one of the houses in Hogwarts, the Hufflepuffs. Aside from the performers, there are many different aspects behind the scenes that play crucial roles in making the play possible in the first place.The behind-the-scenes crew is responsible for building the sets and handling the audio with sound effects, as well as many other aspects of the play. Without them, the show would be impossible to put together as they handle the technical and physical parts of the show.

Juniors Dominic DiBartolo and James Hammelman both play vital roles in the making of this play. Dominic, who served as the stage manager, says, “I make sure everything is going smoothly whether it has to do with the cast or the crew, and I also do the lights for the shows.” Dom has to make sure that everyone’s needs are met and the show is able to run as planned. James also has a crucial role in the making of this play, as he serves as the head of sound; in this role he had to focus on the microphones working properly and sound effects. This is also extremely important in its own sense, as a majority of the play relies on him since sound is such a key factor in the audience enjoying the performance. 

Even though these jobs are extremely crucial in the making of this play, there are many others that factor into the play as well. These unique roles come together to make the bigger picture, which is truly a beautiful sight to see. A lot of work is put into this, especially during Tech Week. Tech Week, as explained by Dom, “is the two weeks of rehearsals before the first show date. We usually stay at school from anytime between 6PM to 8 PM, sometimes later if lights or other things need to be changed for the next day.” Every member of the play has to stay after school for pretty much a whole other school day, having them in school for about thirteen hours. What the cast and crew do during this long period of time is, according to James, “Run the show a lot, fix mistakes, and rehearse as much as we can.” Even though this is extremely difficult, it is imperative to the making of this play, where trial and error can be run and all the flaws can be fixed.

In the end, after the play is done and all the work is finished, the question is, did the work pay off? And the answers from both Dom and James were pretty much the same. As James says, “The best part of the whole process is the end. When all of your hard work finally pays off and you get to see everyone’s dedication and effort accumulate into an amazing production.” Dom also adds, “The best part about the process is definitely meeting new people. There’s so many great people in this program and I love making new memories with them.” 

The cast does an excellent job at performing every play or musical, but the crew should also be seen as their equal as they deal with all the behind-the-scenes tasks. Thus, despite all the hard work the cast and crew have to go through, once the finalized product is up there is not a better feeling than  watching your collective hard work as a group come together to create a masterpiece of a production.