'MerPeople' Makes Waves on Netflix

Hampton Bays native and filmmaker Andréanna Seymore’s most recent project explores a story of love, hope, dreams, desires and mermaids.

Yes, you read that right — mermaids. In recent years, underwater performers have turned their passion for these mythical sea creatures into a real career, and have become part of a half-billion dollar industry.

Seymore’s exploration of this aquatic profession is the focus of “MerPeople,” a docu-series that was released on Netflix on May 23. Seymore, who co-created and executive produced the new hit series and partnered with Oscar-winning director Cynthia Wade, said that she wanted this four-episode series to elevate the level of respect that professional mermaids receive from the public.

“It is very easy to make fun of people, but that is never my objective,” Seymore said. “That is not our goal. It is always about empowerment. The person who never gets the spotlight might have the most important things to say.”

While the concept of making a living by performing underwater at birthday parties or in tank shows as a professional mermaid might be one that is easily mocked, this job is not for the faint of heart. In reality, it requires great athleticism and dedication from the members of the mer-community who excel in the profession.

Mermaids, or mers for short, go through intense training that can threaten their lives. According to Seymore, these underwater performers risk hypothermia by spending long periods of time in cold water. They are also required to hold their breath for two full minutes, all while looking natural and smiling for an audience with eyes wide open in pools filled with chlorine.

“Do not listen to the dream killers or magic killers, but you also have to be realistic because your life is literally on the line,” Seymore noted on the process of becoming a mermaid.

Mermaids are not just people who are doing birthday parties, Seymore emphasized. From the Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, to an aquarium at the Silverton Casino Lodge in Las Vegas, these underwater mermaid performances take place in a variety of settings. According to Seymore, many of these venues have begun to require that their mermaids complete professional courses before being allowed to perform. This ensures that performers are properly trained when they enter a pool to do a gig as a mermaid.

Seymore noted that she, herself, went through the training, believing that she would be fairly adept at it, as she already knew how to snorkel and hold her breath. But she quickly discovered that she didn’t have the skills necessary to do these things at the high level required for mermaid performances.

Over the course of making this documentary, Seymore was also trained to perform a rescue if something goes wrong in the tank. She was taught CPR and learned to hold her breath for longer periods of time. She also learned about the magical world in which these professional mermaids exist.

“You are able to dive into another world,” Seymore said. “You really kind of escape with the people who are living their lives as mers.”

Years before Seymore became aware of the magical mer-community, she was a kid growing up on the East End. Seymore attended elementary school in Westhampton Beach and graduated from high school in Hampton Bays. Her summers were filled with a variety of local jobs, including working for Art of Eating Catering. These local businesses taught her to admire the level of service that the area aims to provide guests each summer.

“I love the social rules of engagement out in the Hamptons,” Seymore said. “It’s such a unique area because you definitely know where you stand. I love that; that study of people in their space. I loved working for Art of Eating because for me, it was such a place to get material in watching and seeing these interactions.”

Seymore’s love for studying people in their natural space carried over into her professional career, where she not only found herself diving into the lives of mermaids but also shooting the sport of roller derby for the coffee table book “Scars and Stripes: The Culture of Modern Roller Derby.” This book tells the story of roller derby through photographs taken by Seymore over a five-year period. During this project, which she originally pitched to New York Times Magazine, Seymore became an avid participant in the sport.

Ultimately, Seymore found herself embedded in the worlds of both these projects she pursued. She said she learned the skill of immersing herself in topics by working in the East End service industry.

“It trained me, in a weird way, to do what I do now,” she said. “Doing all of those private events and having a high level of expectations helped me with what I do now.”

Seymore used those skills to produce quality work in her subsequent career, which involves photography and film.

She noted that for the “MerPeople” documentary, she took a backseat to being the one behind the camera. Instead, she wanted to place herself in the producer role, which she felt would allow her to focus on the story and embed herself in the project.

“Photography can be limiting sometimes, and it is very individualistic. I am a definitely a social person and I love being a part of a team, so it was a natural transition,” Seymore said.

In developing the idea for “MerPeople,” she explained that she first heard about the mer-community through a roller derby friend, Breakneck Brie, who said people on her team would dress up as mermaids and play in their pool. Brie believed that this could be a subject for Seymore to pursue, but Seymore admits that at first, she thought the idea to be somewhat “loony.”

“After that, I saw something on the TV news about mermaids. Then, I picked up a local newspaper and that talked about swapping tails,” Seymore recalled.

It appeared that Seymore could not escape the chatter around mermaids, so she spent two weeks in August 2019 researching the mer-community. This eventually led to her pursuing the creation of the documentary, partnering with Scout Productions, and befriending several professional mermaids along the way.

One of them was Mermaid Chè Monique, founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids. On July 20, Monique traveled to Hampton Bays for a private event called “Mermaid for a day, finding your inner beauty.”

“The longer you are here the more you know and the more powerful you are, and I think that is beautiful and magical and wonderful,” Monique said of being a member of the mer-community.

At the Hampton Bays event, Monique shared what she believes are the highlights and values of being a mermaid, while also teaching a small group the proper safety and technique to employ while wearing a tail in the water.

“I love really everything about mermaiding because it’s like a fun workout and you end up doing super, super intense core work. But you are having fun, so you don’t really think about it,” Monique said. “You get to play dress-up and work out at the same time.”

To learn more about the mer-community, watch “MerPeople” on Netflix.