It s fun to be able to say you re a mermaid, Gina said. The only bad part is the cold. You start to get the shakes after a half hour or so. The hardest thing to get used to, Beth told me, is the air hose. The performers take just enough air to maintain themselves at the proper viewing level.
Novices take too much, and keep bobbing to the surface like corks.
You have to learn how to stay neutrally buoyant, Beth said. If you re serious about being a mermaid, you have to work your way up like everyone else. If I were to pass my audition, I would start out as a trainee. After several months, I d take a test to move up to swimmer. After a year or so, I d take another test to become a full-fledged performer.