Carlmont’s Drama Department is gearing up for its new spring play, Puffs. A spin-off of the famous movie and book series Harry Potter, the play follows the story of a boy who discovers he is a wizard and goes to school in England, where he finds two best friends and has countless adventures.
For Carlmont students, this play represents an opportunity for students to try out new roles.
“Carlmont Drama has a tradition of student leadership, and students always direct our spring play,” said Elizabeth Berg, the director of Carlmont’s drama program.
According to Berg, her only responsibility as director of the drama program is to oversee the process, ensure things are running smoothly, and provide advice and support to the directors. Overall, Berg’s auxiliary role signals how this is a student-led experience from beginning to end.
Student leadership is one of many reasons why Puffs has interested many aspiring actors at Carlmont to audition for the play.
“Puffs appealed to me with its content, and I’ve never felt so encouraged by such a beautiful cast and directors. I look forward to working with outstanding actors and reading one of the most comically sound scripts I’ve ever seen. It’s encouraging to know that I will be working with such a great director,” said Joshua Jiang, a senior in Carlmont’s drama program.
Over the coming months, the directors of the play, seniors Reed Bowman and Morgan Redmon, will work hard to ensure the play runs smoothly.
This year, the student directors are seniors Reed Bowman and Morgan Redmon. Morgan and Reed are both leaders within the drama program, and they bring a wealth of experience in all areas of theatre.
— Elizabeth Berg
“There are a lot of rules as director,” Redmon said. “I’m the one that auditions all the people and makes all the callbacks and stuff like that, but we also put the program together, we send out all the information about the performances, we make all the posters, which we then have to get verified by the Associated Student Body (ASB). We’re like the leaders of the play if you will.”
The inspiration for Puffs comes from last school year, when the previous drama teacher, Nancy Martin, brought up the long-lasting tradition of a student-run spring play in Morgan’s drama class.
“We knew we wanted to do a comedy, that’s for sure,” Redmon said. “We surfed on the web, and later, we found Puffs, and we thought it would be a fun play to put on. Then we asked Miss Berg about getting the rights (for the play), and then we got the rights, and were like, ‘Woo! We’re doing the show now,’” Redmon said.
Still, there is quite a bit of preparation to do. According to Redmon, Puffs is a very prop-heavy play, much of production’s funds will go towards getting wands, capes, hats, and other necessaties.
“I’ve never wanted to work with Reed and Morgan so much before because they make such a great pair, they’ve always been excellent friends of mine, and they encourage me to keep acting,” Jiang said.
The performance’s planned opening night is April 20 and will continue through April 23. Once tickets are available, they’ll be purchasable through Ludus.
Redmon noted that ticket sales will go towards improvements or upgrades for the Carlmont Performing Art programs.
“I’m already impressed with the leadership, organization, and initiative they have shown. I can’t wait to see what the directors, actors, and tech crew can accomplish this spring,” Berg said.
