Fred Garbo came up with a practical solution when airlines kept breaking the sets for his show.

Instead of using plywood sets, he decided to make them inflatable. Garbo teamed up with his friend George York, who had experience making hot air balloons, and the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Company was born.

The inflatable sets, costumes and props can be packed up like sleeping bags and are less likely to be damaged en route to shows, Garbo says.

“A lot of this came out of pure functionality,” he says.

Ames audiences will have the chance to see this “functionality” at work this weekend when the company performs at Stephens Auditorium. The show utilizes inflatable props, combined with juggling, dance and physical comedy from Garbo and his partner, Daielma Santos.

The theater company has been a two-person ensemble with Garbo and Santos, who has a background in ballet, for the past 14 years. The two met in a dance group in Brazil.

Garbo says Santos was different from many ballet dancers because she took an interest in the inflatables and was not afraid to climb inside one of them. Santos has also been influential in creating ideas for the show.

“Most ballet dancers are in the look-good business,” Garbo says. “I’m in the look-funny business.”

Garbo says one of the best illusions during the show is when he comes on stage in an inflatable cube surrounded by cylinders. Garbo says the audience won’t be able to tell where he is as he moves inside the cube.

“As a gymnast, I wanted to do a cartwheel, but as an illusionist, I wanted to hide it,” he says.

Garbo considers himself both an illusionist and a prop comedian. He has had many years of experience entertaining audiences around the world with his juggling and gymnastic abilities.

He says many may be familiar with his work as the man inside Barkley the Dog on “Sesame Street.”

Garbo says the Inflatable Theater Company is a special attraction. Each inflatable piece has different music that goes along with it, and the music varies from Bach to techno.

In addition to himself and Santos, there are several characters in Garbo’s show, including Fred Zeppelin, the inflatable man, and Puff, the inflatable dog.

“It’s almost like a cartoon on stage,” he says.

“It’s very different and very full of surprises.”

Garbo says audiences will be surprised and humored by his show, but they won’t learn the secret behind how his inflatables inflate and deflate anytime soon.

“That would be like a magician revealing his tricks,” he says.

What: “True West”

Where: Fisher Theater

When: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 5-7, 13 and Dec. 4

Cost: $7 student, $13 adults