Bubblegum

Miriam, the teacher, hates bubblegum! The chewing sounds, the wrapper rustling, the stickiness, the sugar rush, everything! Miriam decides to educate the class with a special lesson against chewing, but during the lesson, one mischievous gum decides to disturb her, make her laugh, and do everything to throw her off balance.

Will Miriam manage to get rid of the gum? Or will a wonderful friendship develop between them?

The play won five awards at the “Stage Award for Children’s and Youth Theatre 2025” competition of the ASSITEJ organization:

• Best Production
• Best Direction
• Best Playwright
• Best Set Design
• Best Puppet Design

From the judges’ citations:

Production of the Year:
A highly inventive show that tells a story about human connection and philosophical understanding of the human heart, while creating a relationship with an object.

Direction Award:
An interesting and surprising piece of directing, full of creative and witty visual inventions.

Set Design Award:
The concept of the play required a special, authentic, and moving design. The combination of camera work and puppet design also created a delightful event whose beginning and end were rooted in truly stunning design, intriguing, and inspiring. A surprising, colorful stage full of humor and a wink.

Puppet Design Award:
A fascinating, charming, and above all, surprising puppet design. One never knows how the puppet will appear in the next moment. The work with the clay is excellent.

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The play also won two awards at the 2024 Haifa International Children’s Theatre Festival:

• Playwright Award
• Commendation for Props Design

From the judges’ citations:

Playwright Award:
At first glance, it seems like a story with a small narrative scope, but it contains so much simply and brilliantly.
Based on a small and original idea, the creators managed to convey an entire life story and return us to the magical world of childhood.

Commendation for Props Design:
The award was given for brilliant, comic, and varied use that surprises time and again through the prop in its many forms. The creators managed to do a lot with a “chewed” topic.

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Developed on “Kaleidoscope” – a training program for artists at The Train Theater.

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From the reviews:

“Bubblegum is a show without a dull moment: the variety of comic uses that Miriam Novoplonsky created from gum as a theatrical object, symbol, and image is diverse, beautiful, and incredibly rich. This is a performance full of visual and emotional surprises that succeeds in being very funny, surprising, and moving.”
— Nano Shabtai, Haaretz

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“Bubblegum — a solo performance by Miriam Lupo Novoplonsky that is simply a treat… Miriam is a teacher who arrives for a lesson and discovers her greatest nightmare: gum—gum everywhere. But is peace between humans and gum possible? Will the teacher remember that she, too, was once a child? Includes a video visit to Gum City. A work of art that stands on its own and can also be viewed up close after the performance. Really fun.”
— Hila Regev, blogger

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“On Friday, 14/6/24, students of Harei Jerusalem School, together with the school staff, watched the play Bubblegum.

The performance was both funny and captivating, and well-made. The students and staff watched with great interest. The actress Miriam was excellent. Alon, the technical director, played music that integrated beautifully into the show.

And as one student said: ‘I have no words! The show was amazing!’ Thank you.

Sincerely,
Anat Lifshitz, Principal, Harei Jerusalem School