Review Fix Exclusive: Kristin McCarthy Parker Talks ‘Puffs’

Review Fix chats with director Kristin McCarthy Parker, who discusses her new production, “Puffs” and its current run at The Peoples Improv Theater through Jan 29.

About Puffs:

Some people are born to do great things. Some people change the world. Some people rise from humble beginnings to beat back the forces of darkness in the face of insurmountable odds. Puffs, Or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic is the story of the people who sit in class next to those people. And badgers.

Wayne Hopkins–a boy from New Mexico who is neither brave, smart, nor a snake–finds out he’s a wizard.  Upon arrival at a certain school of magic and magic, he’s placed into the Puffs: a group of well meaning, loyal rejects.  Over seven increasingly eventful years, he’ll try to learn magic; try to get out of the shadow of his world-famous nemesis; and try to not to get hurt in what is actually a very dangerous place for unsupervised children to be.  Sometimes he will succeed.  Partially.

For more on the production, click here.

Review Fix: How did you feel the first time you read Matt Cox’s script?

Kristin McCarthy Parker: Delighted and very eager to work on it! Matt’s writing is so smart, his jokes are on point, and his characters have such a strong emotional journey that you find yourself caring for these people leagues beyond the normal bounds of parody. I loved his concept of seeing this incredible, magical world through an unremarkable person’s eyes. From the get go Puffs was a great balance of celebrating and poking fun at the canon.

Review Fix: What has it been like to work with him?

Parker: Aside from having the most intuitive understanding of comedy, he’s also just the kindest person. He’s incredibly collaborative and responsive in the room and would go away immediately after to do rewrites. He’s also the sound designer on the show, so he basically didn’t stop throughout the whole process. It’s rare to meet someone that talented who’s also so humble and invested in everyone’s success in the group.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone check out this production?

Parker: It’s absolute hilarity with a 1990s flair, set at a wizard school, starring a bunch of well-meaning losers. If that doesn’t do it for you, it’s 90 minutes long, there are handmade wands and magic tricks, a full bar in the lobby, and tix are only $10.

Review Fix: Who is your Wayne Hopkins? What makes them unique?

Parker: Wayne Hopkins is every underdog: Ringo, the borough of Queens, all of us who are striving for greatness and end up just being okay. I think, especially in NYC, we’ve all felt like we have great things to offer, but are continually overshadowed by someone with a brighter spark, a bigger reputation, or a little more luck. I suppose that’s pretty dark… but so is Wayne in a way.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Parker: As the parody that made you love the original even more.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Parker: Comedy-lovers, theatergoers, friends, dates, Moms… Really anyone who’s not averse to fun. It’s for fans and non-fans alike.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Parker: I’m shooting a short film in January and directing Colin Waitt’s play at Dixon Place in February, along with some other stuff in the works. But for the next couple weeks, I’m mostly eating and sleeping.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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