Crabs in a Bucket: If I Can't Have It, Nobody Can
On Sunday, July 16th, to round out our Theatre Weekend Bonanza, we saw Crabs in a Bucket at the Echo Theater Company. Founded in 1996, The Echo Theater Company is a group of actors, writers, directors, and producers dedicated to developing and presenting the work of playwrights at all levels. July 15th was the World Premiere of Crabs in a Bucket, which was written by Bernardo Cubria and directed by Alana Dietze.
Set inside of a shucking bucket, Crabs in a Bucket brings the curious phenomena experienced by many, typically in communities of color, who attempt to better their situation and achieve their version of success but then face harsh ridicule from others within their community or circle. It is best described by the phrase, “if I can’t have it, nobody can.”
Jordan Hull, Michael Sturgis, Xochitl Romero, and Anna LaMadrid.
Observable with real crabs when placed into a bucket, any who make it near the top find themselves pulled back down to the bottom by their fellow crabs who, ironically, are also seeking the exact same freedom. Crabs may be unaware that if they were to simply work together, they can all get out, but we as humans should be able to have a little more understanding of our situation.
And yet, this phenomenon is observable across cultures and is seen across time, being used in a book written in 1911. More recently, the phrase was popularized by the Filipina feminist, activist, journalist Ninotchka Rosca when discussing the cooperation of Filipino people in the Philippines.
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Bernardo Cubria, the playwright, shares his own experience with ‘crab mentality’ and recalls the utter contempt his fellow Mexican natives express towards Selma Hayek, a subjectively very successful Mexican woman who, he believes, should have statues in her honor throughout Mexico. And yet, many who are not Selma Hayek display feelings of contempt for the woman and her successful entry into Hollywood.
Jordan Hull and Michael Sturgis
Crabs in a Bucket digs deeper into this surreal phenomena and explores the system in which there are those on top and those less than on top, challenging the viewer to question why we have been pitted against each other in the first place. The play urges us to not only try and meet the successes of others with joy but to challenge the system that makes it so that there are those struggling and those that are succeeding.
The Crabs are Jordan Hull, Anna LaMadrid, Xochitl Romero, and Michael Sturgis—superb, one and all.
The play premiered July 15th and will run through August 21st at the Echo theater at Atwater Village in Los Angeles, 3269 Casitas Ave Atwater Village. This play is fun, witty and will hopefully have you questioning the bucket you may be in, who you’re in it with, why you’re in it at all and if there isn’t a way out of it together. For tickets, go here.
The opinions expressed here are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions or beliefs of the Hollywood Progressive.
