Productions are well underway for this year’s Hillsborough High School Theatre Department’s fall play: Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. Centered around the most overlooked House, Puffs tells the story of a trio of best friends who attended your favorite magic school at the same time as your favorite boy wizard, but from a different point of view—from the people never destined to be the hero. The play is filled with humor and heart, preaching friendship, individuality, and overcoming great difficulties with positivity. 

Starring in the play is students Falcon Burns, Mia Hausser, and Thomas Frazzetto as the friend group of loyal and bright young magic users and Charlotte Griffin as the villain.

Falcon Burns, a senior, is starring in the play as Wayne Hopkins. Burns has participated in the school plays since seventh grade and was the lead understudy in Shrek while in middle school, and considers his role in the school musical in 2020, Footloose, as his breakout role. 

Sophomore Mia Hausser is playing Megan Jones. Throughout her entire theatre career, starting since she was in fifth grade, Hausser’s favorite role was Mira in Starting Here, Starting Now— last school year’s musical—and she is excited to play her biggest role yet. 

The character of Oliver Rivers, played by Thomas Frazzetto, will not be the freshman’s first leading role as he tackles the impressive feat as an underclassman. “The pressure’s on, but I think that I can handle it,” Frazzetto, with his seven years of theatre experience, said. “Everyone else is only rooting you on and I feel like it’s a really open space and we can share anything and help each other.”

Charlotte Griffin, a sophomore at HHS, is playing the comedic yet creepy villain. As an underclassman, she has only been doing high school theater for two years, but started acting at age four, and grew up in a family of theatre geeks like herself. Griffin plays Mr. Voldy and is “beyond fantastic” in her role, theatre director Nicole Malone said. 

HHS Theatre will perform Puffs on Friday, November 19, and Saturday, November 20. Tickets will be available online. The performances will also be live-streamed—stay tuned for more information on that. The play is directed by Nicky Malone and junior Ellie Beder as the assistant director, with seniors Elena Waddleton as the artistic director and Sonia Sinha as the student producer.

The whole cast and production crew are working hard and hope to see you there!