There is a Welsh word, cwtch, that supposedly has no true English translation. Officially it means a cubby or a place to keep something safe—but it’s used to describe a hug that transcends all other hugs. I would argue that Matt Cox created an English translation for the word—Puff hug. It’s the kind of hug that instantly makes you feel safe and loved and secure—a hug that feels like home. It’s the hug I give my dad, whose memories are slowly fading away, that brings him back for a bit; it’s the hug I give that says everything that can never be put into words; and it’s the hug I give when there are no words left to say.
I oddly remember the exact moment I heard the word “Puffs.” A friend was telling me at lunch about this fantastic show she saw in New York. That’s why I opened the email when the New York off-Broadway production was filmed live and came “to a movie theater near me.” My son was 10 and my husband and I were . . . much older than that. And we were hooked. We bought the script, the merch, the filmed live production when it became available (and watched it about 70 zillion times), and lines from the play soon became (and still are) standard around our house. It is not unreasonable at all to say it is my favorite play. Which is why I may possibly have hounded Justin (our producer) with a never-ending refrain of “Or . . . you could do Puffs!” when he founded a theatre company and was looking for a show for their first production.
He did. We did. Appearing as Hannah in the West Coast premiere of Puffs was an absolute dream come true. I am now one of the rare actors that, when asked, “What’s your dream role?” get to say, “I did it. I did that thing!” I didn’t think anything could top that. I was wrong. Having the opportunity, after two extremely difficult years for everyone, to come back to theatre by directing this incredible cast has been an exhausting, altogether wondrous and, yes, magical journey.
So. Why the . . . fine, let’s just call it an obsession . . . with Puffs? I’m not even a Puff—I’ve taken the tests. I’m a Smart—I love taking tests! Well, as a Smart, I tend to experience and process the world mostly in my head and through the pages of books. The characters in books and plays are genuinely real to me and I consider them legitimate friends. I also spend a truly weird amount of time wondering what happened to side characters or characters that show up for some exposition or an important plot point and then disappear forever.
Matt Cox has created an incredible universe and breathed life into some of the most fantastic side characters ever . . . including some “side characters” that were so “on the side” that they never even made it into the source material. While, no matter how many time I see Puffs, I still laugh so hard I snort, this entire Puffs universe is, in and of itself, a cwtch. It’s a universe that reminds us, no matter how hard things get, there is a place for you; there is a community for you; that you are welcome and loved for being exactly who you are; that your story is important . . . no, not just important . . . your story is crucial; that there exists a place where it’s okay to sit for a minute with your back to the door; and that, as long as you keep trying, you never really fail.
I hope you fall as much in love with our Puffamily as I have. So, grab yourself an adult butter beverage, display your house pride, settle in, be prepared to find your inner Puff, and join me in telepathically sending a message backstage to Kobe to tie her shoelaces before getting on stage.
Third or nothing!!!
