I was the Set, Props, and Costume Designer for Puffs in New York City at New World Stages and the touring production of Puffs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The Puffs are the somewhat forgotten group at a certain school for wizards... Everything in the show is reflecting this notion of having to build this very iconic universe, but as if you were the group being handed the scraps, hand-me-downs, items that are typically seen as humble and over looked - much like our Puff characters.
This aesthetic was dramaturgically appropriate for our story about these underdogs of underdogs, but it's also a fun vessel to reflect some of the ideas I'm intersted in exploring in my design work - bizarre contrasting textures, industrial and unfinished worlds, whimsical and peculiar shapes, and of course a sense of humor.
Madeleine Bundy also deserves a special mention because not only was her portrayal of Harry inspired, but she was also responsible for the set, costume and prop design. No small feat, but to top it all off, the props were marvelously inventive, particularly the dementors, the spiders, the dragon egg (was it made out of spoons??), and my personal favorite, the set and puppets used during the Founding Story. Bundy’s aesthetic imbued the rest of the show with a whimsical spirit that was contagious.
Madeleine Bundy is a creative force to be reckoned with. Her set is equal parts magic, traditional farce, and comic book. Her costuming exhibits the pop of reflexive inspiration but don’t distract from the characters clad in them.
The design work on this production is clever to the max with every department delivering excellence. Madeleine Bundy’s set, costume, and prop designs are at the center of it all. Her set gives the reigning Broadway work of The Play That Goes Wrong a run for its money. Its backstage reverse world look and feel serves as the visual foundation in this frenzied world. Her hodgepodge of costumes is in all actuality a well-organized balance of quick change mastery that fits well within the mania and lets the audience keep track of the many characters and their houses as they fly by.
While Madeleine Bundy must be commended on generating an aesthetic with costume, set and puppetry that is so much more than a tribute but gives PUFFS its own space and sense of universe.
It is all supported beautifully with imaginative set and costume design by Madeleine Bundy
Initially, Madeleine Bundy's stage design appears quite simple but the way it is manipulated allows for many surprises to be experienced along the way. Her costumes and props are strokes of genius particularly in bringing the various monsters to life.
Hopefully you are able to catch PUFFS, but if that is not possible, here is our trailer!
Growing up I was exposed to many many many trips to the museum and there's an historic foundation there that I very much respect. I also had a fondness for things like comic books, old movies, cartoons and comedy. Theatre has a responsibility to be intellectually stimulating and challenging, but I also believe we can deliver those important qualities while still infusing things like humor and the bizarre and the playful.