Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (Two Act Edition) Cast

JEFFREY GUION (Wayne Hopkins) is happy to make his return to Black Swamp Players after a seven-year hiatus. His last role with Black Swamp Players was Cat In The Hat in Seussical the Musical back in 2016. Since then, he's played the titular Bullshot Crummond in Bullshot Crummond with The Village Players and Ted in American Hero with Toledo Rep. He hopes you enjoy the show and find the Hufflepuff inside all of you. Third or nothing!

LEE NUTTER (Oliver Rivers) is thrilled to be part of this production and to have the opportunity to work with Bridget Drew for the second time. You may have seen Lee on stage as Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Show earlier this year. This is their second time working on stage with the Black Swamp Players. Behind the scenes, they stage managed for the previous production of Nora: A Doll’s House, and are looking forward to continuing their relationship with the Theater. 

HALI MALECKI (Megan Jones) is no stranger to the Black Swamp stage as she’s been seen in numerous roles, such as Trisha in Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Twirler in Talking With..., and Olive Madison in The Odd Couple: Female Version, among many more. Additional credits include Kiki in Significant Other with the Toledo Rep as well as American Hero as Jamie and Fourteen Funerals as Millie with ACT. She's always been a giant Potter fan and is beyond excited to be part of bringing the hilarious story of the Puffs to life. 

HEATH A. DIEHL (Narrator) is thrilled to be your narrator for Puffs. Heath has previously been seen on the BSP stage as Ed in The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night Time, Caleb in The Spitfire Grill, George in It Shoulda Been You, Ensemble in Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Herb in I Ought to be In Pictures, Edward in Psych, and Mr. Boddy in Clue: The Musical. He also has directed the following productions for area theaters: Nora: A Doll’s House (BSP); Marjorie Prime (BSP), August: Osage County (BSP), The Guys (TBD), Gideon's Knot (TBD), The Drowsy Chaperone (BSP), A Mouth to Feed (Toledo Rep), and The Odd Couple (Female Version) (BSP). In his professional life, Heath is Teaching Professor in the Honors College and Department of English at BGSU. He currently serves as President of the Board of Trustees of BSP, as Vice President and agency representative for Northwest Ohio Community Shares, and as President of Wood County Humane Society Board of Directors. In his personal life, Heath enjoys spending time with his very supportive husband of twenty-seven years, Gary, and their clowder of seven rescue cats (Kit, Jules, Shangela, Monarch, Minnie, Buzz, and Patrice).

Steve Bishop (Ernie Mac) is the natural born son of a clown, and a fourth (or fifth) generation Ohioan, by that blood. The first time he stumbled on stage was to give flesh to the disembodied voice of the late, great Don Pardo; now, he is giddy to have this opportunity to be a disembodied voice, as well as embodiments of encounters experienced by a lad making sense of the incidents around him. You may recognize Steve from a previous BSP productions (August: Osage County, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, Mimi’s Famous Card Company, and The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Nighttime), or possibly a TBD production (Motherhood Out Loud), or mayhaps wandering around “the swamp” (as he is wont to do). When not politely fending off the zeitgeist with all his might, Steve indulges many joys, among them: a good night's rest, a fine cup of coffee, a nice walkabout (as mentioned earlier), also stretching metaphor, with hyperbole, into new forms, and words, like: hyperphor, or metabole. As the future is unknowable, Steve hopes you enjoy your time at the show, as well as in the general day to day of it all.

SAMANTHA HEATER (Hannah) is thrilled to be involved in BSP’s production of Puffs! In her spare time, Sam is a custom Funko pop creator and pet portrait artist. She’s also on the Board for the Black Swamp Players and was recently seen as Nora 1 in Nora: a Doll’s House, Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show, and Shelby Thorpe in The Spitfire Grill, among others! Shout out to her dog children Ghost and Cisco, the loves of her life!

NICHOLAS YATES (J. Finch Fletchly) is thrilled to be returning to the Oak Street Theater to play J. Finch Fletchley! Currently, Nick is a third-year student at Bowling Green State University and is majoring in Adolescent to Young Adult Education. Nick has performed with the Black Swamp Players in the past in roles such as Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Marty Kaufman in It Shoulda Been You, as well as Michael in Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). When not on stage, he enjoys following motorsports of just about any kind as well as spending an unhealthy amount of time at his drum set. Nick would like to extend his gratefulness to both his family for their unwavering support and to director Bridget Drew for the opportunity to work in this production. Enjoy the show!

KYLIE SCHMEHL (Leanne) is very excited to be playing Leanne in Puffs! Kylie is a third year at Bowling Green State University studying Adolescent to Young Adults: Integrated Language Arts; she hopes to become a high school English and drama teacher. This is Kylie’s third show with the Black Swamp Players, her first being August: Osage County, where she played Jean Fordham, and her most recent being The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, where she played Christopher Boone. She would like to thank Bridget for this Wizard-tastic opportunity and her fellow cast and crewmates for doing such an amazing job and making this experience fantastic. Remember, We’re Wizards!

GLORIA WANG (Sally Perks) is excited to be performing in her first production with the Black Swamp Players and working with this extremely talented cast. She was last seen on stage as Maria in Glorious! with Lakeside Theatre Company. Gloria also portrayed the role of Mulan in Disenchanted! with Perrysburg Musical Theatre Company. When not on stage, she is a mom to her three wonderful kids—Michael, Samantha, and  Maxwell—and an IT Analyst. Gloria would like to thank her family and friends for their love and support!

NIKKI FETTERS (Susie Bones) is bloody excited to make a magical return to the BSP stage. She previously appeared in the The Rocky Horror Show. When not on stage she enjoys overcommitting herself and being a menace to society. And also badgers; badgers are cool. She’d like to thank her very supportive husband, Mark, for always letting her follow her dreams. Lastly, she’d like to remind you that contrary to how some people may feel, magic is for everyone! From the wise words of a very tall man “I am what I am, an’ I’m not ashamed. ‘Never be ashamed”

TREVOR WALSH (Cedric Diggory), the accountant with a love of acting, is back for his second show with Black Swamp Players! Previous to this production, Trevor has been in a variety of both musicals and straight plays across several community and school organizations in Bowling Green, Athens, and Columbus, OH. His most recent productions include BSP’s 2023 production of Nora: A Doll’s House (Thomas Helmer), Hilliard Art Council’s 2019 production of Hello Dolly (Chorus), and Lost Flamingo Company’s 2017 production of The Importance of Being Earnest (Assistant Director). While he’s typically a “Smart,” Trevor is excited to share the Puff-ier side of his personality with the audience (and maybe a hint of Snake in there too!). Trevor wants to especially give thanks to his fiancé Hunter and the rest of his family for the support they’ve provided over the past few months leading up to the production.