Bubble Talk 3: Pep Bou’s Bubble Magic

Last Saturday, I found myself giggling just as much as my 4 year old as we sat side by side to experience an incredible blend of bubble blowing, shadow puppetry, comedy, music, dance, theatrical lighting or in a word- MAGIC! Yes, Pep Bou’s bubble show is indeed magical! Thus, the urgency to do a series on BUBBLES this week so I can feature Pep Bou’s bubbly theatrical genius.

Who is Pep Bou? 
Pep Bou, is the  award-winning 63 year-old Spanish bubble whiz who created the Bubble Magic. As I searched the internet to learn about him, I found two main links in English – his website’s English version and a recent interview with Singapore’s The New Age Parents.

Here’s what I’ve learned from his website:

Poetry as performance: PEP BOU is an excellent mime with arms long enough to reach the far away blue. He has succeeded with bubbles, flowers of the air, impossible waves in the same water. This poetry of soap bubbles, equivalent to words, is the result of his wit. Where, on earth, can we register such unusual show? It is not so much the operative magic, but the poetics of the effectiveness of the playing with bubbles. The stage breathes and has the nerve of the bubbles game. – Joan Brossa
Read more on Companyia Pep Bou
Learn more about Pep Bou and his career as mime, bubbleologist, director,etc.

PEP BOU -The Genius Behind BUBBLE MAGIC
Image via Companyia Pep Bou

And here are some excerpts from the interview he did with The New Age Parents blog in Singapore…

Hi Pep! What’s it like to create soap bubbles as a career? 
To create soap bubbles as a career, you must be patient, trust the work and be a complete perfectionist. I love the nature where I live and I try to go to the sea whenever I have time. Bubbles have made me understand that life is ephemeral and you’ve got to enjoy it at an emotional level.

How long does preparation take and what do you need to prepare before a show?
It takes 6 hours of preparation on the first day. On the following days, we need two hours to get everything ready: soap mixtures, humid atmosphere, instruments, wardrobe, lighting and sound.

One little known fact people know about bubbles is…
That when they burst, they don’t explode in all directions, but instead they pull into a spherical shape due to surface tension, like they want to change into drops. As a metaphor, they are the exact size of our times.

One little known fact about your show is…
That we perform and manipulate the bubbles as if it were all very easy, but it is actually extremely complex and difficult.

Read complete interview on thenewageparents

PepBou’s BUBBLE MAGIC
Image via sistic

A Little About the BUBBLE MAGIC show
Synopsis via sistic

Bubble Magic – Pep Bou’s Wonderful World of Bubbles is a brand new show from the world-renowned bubble whizz. Direct from a Europe-wide tour, the joyful two-man show combines the fleeting beauty of bubbles with clowning, ingenious lighting, colourful music and crazy costumes. The two turn everyday elements into a magical, wonder-filled world. They compete, collaborate and surprise us, with fishbowl bubbles, animal bubbles, bubbles on a highwire, sliding bubbles, puppet bubbles and even a train inside a bubble tunnel.

Pep Bou has been playing with bubbles for more than three decades, an adventure that has taken him onto the stages of theatres and festivals around the world, delighting audiences of all ages and cultures. He has been honoured with an array of prestigious awards. Wordless and wonderful, Bubble Magic is a 65 minute visual and comic feast for children and adults alike.

Here are some images I took during the show. They do not really come close to the live experience.  However, it gives you a glimpse of Pep Bou’s poetry and magic on stage.

OMG—a bubble shadow. First time I’ve seen something like this! Pure bliss!

Bubbles in a row, now that is Cool (with a capital C)!

Long and large bubbles – swaying, twirling with the wands – just FANTÁSTICO!

Opaque bubbles plus coloured lights – make disco rainbow bubbles!

Yes, a bubble tunnel for this choo choo train!

Noon in Singapore- and we are seeing a FULL MOON.

Pep Bou— indeed from a different galaxy!

Watch this promo video for BUBBLE MAGIC and soak in the bubbly genius of Pep Bou

So do… as Pep Bou has- understand that like bubbles, life is ephemeral and you’ve got to enjoy it at an emotional level.