From November 10 to 13, Linganore High School’s (LHS) theater program performed the play “Puffs.”

“Puffs” is a satirical take on the popular book and movie series “Harry Potter.” The play describes the story’s events from the perspective of the whimsical house of Hufflepuff.

While it may be enjoyable to watch the performance, it is easy to forget that productions and acting take a long time to perfect. Preparing for a performance can take anywhere from two to five months on average.

“It took about three months to put the production together from the auditions to performing the actual show,” said Finn Martinez.

In order to ace a performance, it takes intense practice and willingness to complete.

“The preparation process consisted of rehearsal every weekday until opening night,” said Martinez.

Accents and body language are some of the most important yet hardest things to mimic about a character.

“The most challenging part about my roles were learning and incorporating their voices and accents,” said Martinez.

Performances need to be enjoyable for the audience as well as the actors performing.

“Puffs has been my favorite play I’ve been in; it’s very upbeat and fun. Performing is very exhilarating, [and]I love being able to show the audience what I’ve worked so hard on,” said Martinez.

Finding out roles can be a nerve-wracking experience. Sometimes, actors get the role they were hoping for, and sometimes they do not.

“I was ecstatic to find out I was cast for Cedric and Voldy,” said Martinez.

The ability to make a character come to life on stage is very valuable when it comes to an actor’s performance.

“My favorite part of this show is being able to create a flexible character onstage. Having the opportunity to change and be creative with the characters is very exciting,” said Martinez.

Audience reaction and participation can make a bigger difference to the success of a performance than one might think; their cooperation has the potential to make or break the performance.

“Audience reaction plays a big role. Having interactive audience members keeps the energy up. It’s nice to know the audience is enjoying the show,” said Finn Martinez.

LHS drama’s next performance will be “The Little Mermaid” musical in spring 2023.