SALT WATER PEOPLE
The Lore:
Roughly 100 miles from Times Square lives a community of Long Island fishermen called the Bonackers. They speak a dialect that retains the sound of Shakespearean England. It has rarely, if ever, been recorded in any language book.
As soon as we learned about these folks, we began a process of field working with the Bonackers and Baymen of Long Island in order to understand their culture through their particular problems surrounding overfishing and regulation. From these conversations we were able to write a story that fit the missions of community partners like Long Island Traditions, The East Hampton Historical Society, the Southampton Culture Center and the Waterfront Museum in Brooklyn. Our readings attracted the attention of NPR's All Things Considered and The Wall Street Journal.
When the Pandemic struck, we had to put our planned live tour on hold, and decided we needed to find a new way to reach the community, as in person performance was no longer possible. The result was our first audio drama, which you can currently find on Spotify. The overwhelmingly positive response emboldened us to turn our short play into a short film, coming soon.
Salt Water People spins the legend of the 12th Generation Bonacker Bayman Chris King, and his final fishing trip with his son, Danny. When Chris, struggling with the pressures of losing his wife, his home, his boat, and his source of income catches a mystical creature from the depths of his past, he must choose which he’d rather lose: his son or his mind.
Check out our partner at https://longislandtraditions.org/
"'Salt Water People' is more than just a story of struggle... [it] weaves in an element of the mystical."
-The Wall Street Journal
ALt's Partnership:
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