by Alarna Summers
HI! It is your Narrator speaking and it is my pleasure to welcome you to ‘The Epilogue: The Puffs and a look back at their wonderful show’. It has been an absolute honour to work with Beaumaris Theatre Inc. to produce our 2023 season of ‘Puffs’ and a true joy as a first-timer with the company to work with such spectacular people. The experience was one of great reward which I will cherish forever and friendships that are sure to last a lifetime.
I must commend Beaumaris Theatre on having two of the greats as the leaders of this ship – Dan Bellis and Kristina Doucouliagos. To work with them is to be their family, and their focus for the show was just that; building a family of Puffs who could rely on and support each other through what is a chaotic, high-energy, and wildly fulfilling show. From just a few weeks in, we came to expect each rehearsal to be filled with fantasy-made-up drama games and exciting source-material-related improvisation sessions. While the two were both incredibly driven and focused in producing this show, they also understood the bond that needed to be developed between a cast in order to pull off the comic timing and difficult structure required, and they put a great deal of energy into helping us to achieve that. I am beyond grateful to both of them for trusting me to share this story with our audiences, and for seeing such potential in each one of us and helping us to realise it.
As a first-timer with Beaumaris, I was excited as soon as the auditions were announced for this show. Not only did it combine humour and one of my favourite stories, but the high praise that I had come to hear about the company drew me instantly to them. At the conclusion of the show (and many times since) I marvelled at just how positive and encouraging the environment throughout the season has been. Each person we encountered – whether they were sourcing costumes for us, reinforcing doors after we closed them too aggressively, or building spectacular puppet sets – was incredibly personable, kind, and generous. I felt great trust in the team behind the scenes and felt an instant warmth and connection with them. It was clear from the beginning that their greatest intention was to produce high-quality theatre with passion and professionalism. We felt so lucky that we had such support throughout and thus the high praise in the theatre community made a great deal of sense.
In reflecting back even further, the callback process was proof enough that this experience would be nothing short of extraordinary. With such a safe and empowering environment, all actors felt confident to work with each other as we embodied animals or put ourselves out there by looking into the ‘weird mirror’ as our characters; an exercise that was touchingly revisited before our last show. Upon meeting each of these wonderful performers, it was instantly clear that we were going to have a ridiculous amount of fun bringing this story to life. There was never a single rehearsal that went by without uproarious laughter and applause over the newest line delivery or piece of improvisation. Every actor was encouraged to experiment and find the core of their characters (some embodying more than I could count!) with the freedom to make mistakes and challenge themselves. The bond that was developed between us as a group only became stronger during our three-week show run.
As opening night came around, we were all nervous but immeasurably excited to share the laughs that we had together with our community of theatre lovers. Amidst a flurry of hugs and stage-angel presents, we put our hands in and ‘third or nothing’d our way to the stage. What we received from the audience was pure joy! The laughter, smiles, and kind feedback from that opening night gave us the confidence to continue to come back bigger and better each time – only occasionally breaking character in the face of some great reactions. While there was a fall or broken door here and there, the whole show experience can only be described as magic. From start to finish, with every audience, in every backstage moment. Absolute magic.
I have personally been overwhelmed by how dear this show and this Puff family have become to me. I have never performed in a comedy play before, so I was out of my comfort zone from the beginning, but I never doubted it for a second. I had great trust in the crew to create the world of magic school in a way that I couldn’t even imagine, I had trust in my directors to guide me toward the nuance and heart of my character, and I had trust in my cast through every wild and chaotic moment on the stage. I would be more than delighted to join the Beaumaris family for another show in the future and can’t recommend them more to any passionate actors looking for their next project.
I am sad to sign off as the storyteller for my Puffs, but it is with immense pride that I say goodbye. Thank you to every audience member who shared this with us and who could appreciate what we were trying to do. I am a Puff to my core, and I wear it with honour. After all, why be one thing when you can be everything else?