Eric Rooke, director of the WHS Drama Club, announced on Facebook that instead of a just a fall play and spring musical at Williston High, there would be an extra show in the winter before the highly anticipated musical production of Beauty and the Beast. This play will take a certain boy wizard, his scarred forehead, and a talented cast of students to pull it off. Puffs is a magical parody of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, and his seven years at a Certain School of Magic, where the protagonist is not Potter, but rather a group of misfits who were caught up in the background while he became a legend: The Hufflepuffs, or just “Puffs” for short. These budding wizards are not the best at magic, nor are they the best at anything in particular, but are the best at being themselves. The HOWL sat down with members of the cast, crew, and the directors themselves to get a deeper understanding of how this show will come together, and the fun they’ve had backstage. To begin, we interviewed members of the cast to gauge how the general reaction to auditions was. Some were very confident, like Isabel Gutierrez. “When I auditioned, it felt really good, and I thought I did pretty well, but I didn’t have high hopes. I went in with zero expectations and was not really surprised. The casting made a lot of sense to me.” But some were not so confident initially, like Adrianna Ginther, for example. “The audition, I was like, so terrified, and I was freaking out because I thought I did so terribly.” But then her fears were put to rest, she said, when “they pulled me aside one day and said ‘You are most definitely going to be in it’ and I was just so excited by the whole thing.” And excitement kept on coming, with an added detail that the cast were playing multiple roles on top of just the usual ones. “I mean, I was surprised that I had gotten so many characters, and all of them fit me perfectly in a way. Like, they were all like me in a small way or another,” Ginther said. Gutierrez also added “I think the characters made me push myself to become a better actor and step out of my comfort zone with acting in a way.” But this was not the only surprise that came from the cast list. The show’s cast would not include seniors as any of the roles, but they would soon find out why that was the case. The five seniors who auditioned would be promoted to a new level of commitment when Mr. Rooke announced Puffs would be directed by them. A student-led show for the first time ever. Margaret Purkey, one of the student directors, explained the difference between being a castmate vs. a director. “It’s different in the aspect that I was in charge,” Purkey explains. “I’ve always helped out with theater and always did my best to help out whenever I could, but I was able to fully choreograph scenes this time,” she said. “Not knowing the answer to everything is difficult, but directing this show has been a fun experience. There were issues with snow and ordering things online, but otherwise it’s been going smoothly. The cast is great and they all fit their characters perfectly.” While the student directors have been working hard to put the show together, Mr. Rooke has been supervising the process and teaching the seniors how to direct certain aspects of the show while they bring it together. “Being able to watch students direct has been an honor because they have used techniques that I have taught them and made it their own”. Puffs is expected to perform on February 5th and 6th of 2024, with tickets for students priced at $4 and adult tickets at $6.