C R A B S A L I V E

by Russ Barnes

Synopsis

A NEW STORY ABOUT CRABBING, STAGNATION, LIFE, AND DEATH.

CRABS ALIVE is a new play about crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay of the shores of Southern Maryland. A mysterious stranger shows up from an *upper world* where she volunteers to help with a problematic crabbing at the bottom of the Bay. Her help appears the only chance that remains to save an entire way of life along the bay.

Seemingly passionate about crabbing, she is also a scrapper who fights with the disapproving captain, then makes a spectacular dive to the muck at the bottom of the Bay. Scraping the clawing crabs through the murky depths up to the deck of the boat owned by Captain Charlie, she appears to be helping the dying crabbing industry of the region. But in dislodging the clawing, stuck crabs from their mounds on the bottom of the Bay, she also, in some magical, sympathetic way, raises the poor, the downhearted, the addicted, and the marginalized souls embedded in the muck and mud of this life on earth.

*Wrapped up within each of us is a great richness of thoughts. These thoughts are prisoners in the subconscious only waiting to be set free to go to work for us. They are waiting for the coming of the one who releases the prisoners and sets the captives free.*

This quote from Charles Fillmore describes the mission of Jovita and Captain Charlie on his skipjack , the *Beautiful Swimmer.* Embarking on their adventure from Drum Point near Lusby, Maryland, they launch their auspicious crab fishing operation -- which both harrows Hell and saves the crabbing industry.

The mythological analog for Captain Charlie is Charon, the ferryman of the dead to Hades. Jovita is a Spanish name related to the Hebrew Joshua, which means "salvation."

Audiences of the CRABS ALIVE readings are entranced by the feisty, often tender, sometimes humorous, and always surprising dialogue between Jovita and Captain Charlie. The two characters -- their two cultures colliding on the same boat -- clash over fees, the nature of crabs, sexual roles, and traditional customs. And finally they reach accommodation in the vital matters of crabbing, redemption, and the daunting confrontation with stagnation, addiction and death.

The dramatic reading of CRABS ALIVE is open for all to attend. It is family entertainment that will hold the attention of audiences from ages 14 through 99.

For further information about CRABS ALIVE, contact Russ Barnes, Good Measure Productions, 5200 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; Ph. 301-564- 3741; emailto: Russ Barnes For more information about Russ Barnes -- Home Page

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