By M Sebastian Araujo

Sometimes life takes one into creative realms that they never dreamed existed. Amid the hurly burly of a Summers day in Gaye olde Ptowne who has not noticed that very TALL and uniquely glam lady on the pink Schwinn bicycle. Recently I had a chance to chat with the Iconic Scarbie!

Ladies and Gentleman may I introduce Scarbie!

How did you begin your career in Show biz?
Back in my 90’s NYC days, I was working as a buffed, built, bartender in the city’s trendiest men’s leather bar.  (A costumed job when you think about it!)Drag was emerging from its secretive, questionable practice into an accepted and creative (and possibly money making) status.  A group of my buddies and I decided to throw on some thrift store drag and go out for fun one night.  I had a capri pant and sleeveless turtle neck « ensemble » with a flowing train and an nostalgic updo.’
I remarked to my pals that it « looks like something Barbie would wear, but with my rugged looks I’m more like SCARBIE! »  The name stuck since that very night.I love it!  It is very gender non-specific.  Even today 20 years later, when I am off-duty (from my costumed drag job), people like the men at the hardware store, the bank tellers, call me Scarbie or Scarb.  It’s fine.  It’s great.  After all it’s not like they are calling me some confining drag name like Jessica Deluxe, or Miss JuJu Bee, whatever.

It’s an all purpose name!

What is it about your Show that packs the House every time the curtain comes up?
I have learned a lot about the history of performance in Ptown from locals and seasoned performers during my own ten plus years performing my show; Lip-Schtick.  My partner of 20 years Richard White has been a seasonal Ptown business owner for over 40 years so he has many stories to tell about the early days of performance, music, theater, and drag over the years.  He ran the Boat Slip Tea Dance for eleven years. He has seen it all!  One thing I am proud of about my show and my style of performance is that people compare me to old school performers such as Charles Pierce, Craig Russell, Lynn Carter, and Walter Blake among others.  Back then there were just a few small scale venues, and show business in Provincetown was not so formulaic and competitive.  Younger performers, and show-goers probably do not know of these performers, but they were trailblazers for all of us actors, especially those of us in the drag show business.  Drag shows in Ptown were not established by a « drag race. »  Drag performance in Ptown has a long, rich history, and to suggest that any ol’ drag is worth the price of admission is not the case.  Just sayin’.  Today the whole « Broadway Series » that some venues are offering is an interesting new trend.  On one hand it offers tourists and locals the chance to enjoy seeing established entertainers in a more intimate setting, priced accordingly, and on the other hand one might question if it encroaches on the local landscape of entertainment, and those performers offering more of  a Ptown experience.   Up for debate I suppose.  One thing I can say for Lip-Schtick is that my crew and I  continue to offer tourists and theater-goers a true hands on, fully professional Ptown experience at a reasonable price that delivers more entertainment than they paid for.   This claim comes from countless ticket buyers every summer.  Of course I agree!

How would you describe your very distinctive Style of Drag?
The « Scarbie Look » has become a somewhat iconic sight on Commercial Street.  I never intended that!   I describe the Scarbie swing style outfits as « both comical and couture, retro and fashion forward. »  The outfits themselves are relatively simple in construction, most being seven pattern pieces.  In my most complex design, although the stylistic impression is the same, there were 32 pattern pieces.  My fingers were blistered by that one!  But really, once conceived and designed I can create them in a day or two.   I love the creative process of producing the designs and outfits.  It is a great part of the job.  However, what has become the public iconic aspect of the outfits was a happy accident.  In the early days of Lip-Schtick I had been out on my pink Schwinn trying to sell tickets on a hot day.  Little luck.  I was hot, tired and discouraged.  To invigorate myself I went into the dressing room at the UU, freshened up and put on another outfit  just for the heck of it.  I rode out on my bike again and heard a group of people exclaim « Look!  She changed outfits! »  Ah-Ha moment, as they say.  I realized that I had to keep people visually interested through the afternoon to entice them to buy tickets for that night’s show. Four hours barking in the same outfit; no one notices you after awhile.   Now I change Scarbie outfits, six, eight, even ten times a day.  It has become a cottage industry in a way, and the posing-with-Scarbie-photos that people demand has become a big part of my day.  I really enjoy helping people chronicle their Ptown visit with an energetic, funny, and well posed photo!  (Who wants a « bad » picture??)  It can be exhausting, but they are « loving me » all afternoon, and that doesn’t hurt too bad!  And…it sells tickets!!

Was there a Shining lightbulb moment in your life when you realized you  were an Artist?
Like many creative adults, I was encouraged as a child by my parents to use my imagination.  As a  young boy I loved playing dress up.  This meant more than just wearing my mother’s or sister’s clothes (which I did!)  It also meant throwing on my father’s fishing clothes or hunting clothes (which I did!), or clipping a bath towel around my neck like a super hero cape and jumping out of trees (which I did!)  I also loved creating « art. » Drawing, painting, working in clay, which I was encourage to do.  Imagination leads to ideas, and solutions.  Concepts lead to design exploration and execution.  Freedom of expression leads to personal fulfillment. Leading an artistic life does not have to mean creating paintings or sculpture (which I did!), or living a life on a stage in front of an audience (which I did!)  Artistic lives are lives lived by human beings who have the desire, ambition and resolve to express themselves through any chosen means without succumbing to fear or judgement.  These pitfalls still exist, and can do damage,  but they do not overtake the sheer determination to find joy in self expression.  Working with professional photographers has become a very artistic aspect of my job as well.  I love creating compelling images and compositions with visionaries who use a lens as a creative tool.  I view myself as a simple element in the image rather than seeing the outcome as a portrait.   Artist?   I am just being me.  Artist?  Maybe?  Content, blessed, thankful?  Definitely.  (Okay, that’s my esoteric, wordy, philosophical indulgence for the article…let’s move on…)

What is it about Provincetown that keeps yourself and other creative people living here and coming back each year?
Most obviously, people come to, and come back to, and sometimes stay in Provincetown for it’s unique identity, the beauty, the culture, the tee-shirts!  But really, I think all of us… most of us… just want to exist, « to be, » in a place where we feel comfortable, included, recognized and valued.   Don’t you?

(Note from Scarbie:  Yes, I have  a positive and hopeful disposition in an increasingly cynical world….no apologies.)

How nice it is to know that the creative and good spirited vibes that are put out by Scarbie are felt by everyone who visits this old crazy quilt of a town…Each taking home a memory and a laugh to help make the World a better place. Bravo Scarbie and thank you for always being you!

To Find out more about Scarbie Click Here: http://www.scarbie.com/