Host Steve Bertorelli interviewed actress Eliza Barmakian regarding her lead role in the play Wait Until Dark and her experiences as a low-vision performer. Barmakian discussed her eye condition, her background in musical theater, and her upcoming projects in Cambridge.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Hi, everybody. Welcome once again to the CBB show. As always, I'm Steve Bertorelli. Well, I'm so glad to see you guys again. I have a very special guest with me today. She's a very talented actress, and we met only about a month ago. But I would like to introduce you to Miss Eliza Barmakin. Hi, Eliza.
[SPEAKER_07]: Hi, Steve.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Eliza, let's do a little back story about you. I met Eliza, I was at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, Massachusetts. I saw my friend Bill Mutos, who was actually on my show three years ago. He was part of the SAG-AFTRA, during the strike of the SAG-AFTRA Screen Actors Guild. And he was in the show with you, Bill. Yes. Very nice guy. He was in a show at Greater Boston Stage called Wait Until Dark. Now, if you don't know anything about Wait Until Dark, it's based on the, I think a 1960s movie, which starred the late, great Audrey Hepburn. And in this show, in this movie, Audrey Hepburn played a girl who was blind. And these crooks are trying to find out where a doll is. I don't know. It's been a while since I've seen the movie.
you were they made it into a stage play and eliza played the audrey hepburn role you know and i'm like and i gotta tell you i was incredible but there's something about eliza you don't realize that Eliza, believe it or not, is illegally blind. Now, Eliza, I found out about this when I was watching the show, and I was so amazed when I found out that you had low vision, because you went around that stage so flawlessly. I mean, I couldn't even tell you were blind. It was just amazing. Can you just tell us what kind of condition you have? What is it?
[SPEAKER_06]: Sure, well thank you for that wonderful introduction. Yeah, so I am low vision and I have an eye condition called aniridia. So the basis of it is that in the back of your eye you have a retina that's the furthest, the backest most point of your eye and you have a divot in the back of your eye called the fovea where all the light cells get centered into and it makes a sharp image. In aniridia, that divot is underdeveloped and or just not there at all. So when light comes in, it's dispersed across the retina and therefore pictures and whatever you're getting from the environment appears to be blurred. And so that causes reduced vision. And there's also a factor of it where you have a nub of your iris, so the color in your eye. So you practically don't have it. And it's not usable. So there's a lot of light sensitivity. with the condition. But nonetheless, I've always lived my life just how I see the world. And I think that that allowed me to bring this sense of confidence to the role that I had, because I was just living a blind person's life, which is actually inherently very confident and very smooth moving, except for, you know, of course, some bumps here and there, but what life doesn't have those?
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Now, if you don't mind me asking, can you see shapes? Can you see faces?
[SPEAKER_06]: Yes. So I can see shapes, faces, colors, large objects. It's primarily, for me, the details that are challenging to see. So I can read a level of text, usually 20-point font and above. But I prefer to do things digitally, or auditorily, or via braille, just to allow my eyes not to have to strain. And the further away something gets from me, the more difficult it is to make out. But I can see a level of things.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: You also have a very pretty, beautiful guide dog, Zenga. Zenga, yes. Hi, Zenga. How are you? Hi, Zenga. Hi, Zenga. Oh, there he is. Oh, my God. This is a Labrador Golden Retriever, right? A Golden Retriever, yes. Yeah, I love Golden Retrievers. But, you know, like I said, I was amazed by your performance. Thank you. She should get a Tony, ladies and gentlemen. That's how good she was. But, I mean, the final act, everything, I was on the edge of my seat. That's how big it was. Now, did you always want to be an actress when you were growing up?
[SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, I, you know, I always found music and theater to be something that drew me in and something that I could relate to when I felt like everybody and everyone else in the world was doing something and I felt kind of trapped in my room. I always had a hard time going out and about mobility-wise, going with friends and crossing the street, for example, and just for the safety reason of it. And there are so many skills that I had to learn at that time to be able to do that confidently. But as a kid, I just didn't have those skills. And I was working through them. And so I was often at home in my room and imagining what everybody else was doing. And I thought, okay, well, how can I turn what I'm this boring life that I see in front of me into something fantastical. And that was, that came from listening to music. And I acting and being in my room and just making up stories and so I saw that as really such a an illuminating thing for me so when I found out that you could be up on stage and in front of people and have that experience of playing around and telling a story about a life that you wanted to see in a world that you wanted to see I said, oh, of course, that's what I'm going to do, light bulb. So it kind of came from a place of just, this is connection with the world for me.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Wow. I mean, was it like when you go to auditions or anything, and they find out that you have low vision, does it like hamper you in a way? If you don't mind me asking.
[SPEAKER_06]: Yeah. Well, I mean, I feel like so much of the casting process is out of my hands. It's out of everybody's hands. And there's so much that from the production team, you don't No, and all you can really do is present your material and then kind of throw your hands up and say, all right, it's out of my hands. And so I haven't necessarily spoken to people about, oh, was I not cast in this because of my vision? I've, of course, had those thoughts. But I think that what was beautiful about this experience with Wait Until Dark was that even with all of those doubts that I could be thinking, And that any person could be thinking, our director Waylon cast me and he said, I'm going to take a chance on her. And I think that it showed that blind people can do this and that I hope it opens the door for so many more visually impaired or low vision or blind people to do this work.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: I know because when I saw the show, there were people from an organization for the blind and they had like audio things that they could see. I mean, I have to tell you, Eliza, you are an amazing role model for people with disabilities. I am so, you should be so proud of yourself. I mean, you're just amazing what you do. Now, when we talk about it, we're going to show the footage of the WBZ story about your story, Wait Until Dark. And then I have a little couple of questions to ask you about it, OK? So we're going to show the WBZ report on the show Wait Until Dark. It was at Greater Boston Stage Company a couple of months ago. So we're going to take a look at it. So let's take a look.
[SPEAKER_02]: adaptation of the classic Wait Until Dark will soon open at the Greater Boston stage in Stona.
[SPEAKER_05]: Now the story centers around a blind woman facing off against three criminals who terrorize her in her own apartment. In this production, two actors share the lead role. One of them has a unique perspective that's in the spotlight.
[SPEAKER_07]: I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your wife.
[SPEAKER_06]: I have a rare condition called aniridia, and it has caused me to have low vision for my entire life.
[SPEAKER_05]: Eliza Bar-Macon is one of two women preparing to take the stage as Susan Hendricks in Wait Until Dark.
[SPEAKER_06]: This show is such a great opportunity to represent my community authentically and with so much love and pride for who we are.
[SPEAKER_05]: During rehearsal, Eliza and Jenny S. Lee watch each other closely before alternating who is acting in the scene.
[SPEAKER_04]: That's very kind of you, Simon. She sent a thank you note to your precinct. I feel like I have my own personal policeman.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. I think our Susans are together like a lot stronger that like from being in the room with each other.
[SPEAKER_05]: Director Waylon Symes had a tough time deciding who to cast before suddenly he thought.
[SPEAKER_01]: What if we offered to both? What if we split the role between two actors and we get the opportunity to tell the story in two completely different ways with two incredible actors who bring something unique to the role?
[SPEAKER_05]: And the actors embrace the challenge.
[SPEAKER_06]: I think that that is the opportunity that we have with this show that we can say there is so much diversity to being blind.
[SPEAKER_03]: Just watching the way that she moves through the world sort of like teaches me like I'm always watching the way she moves her hands and sort of the way that she moves through the world. She taught me how to use a walking stick.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is forcing everybody in the cast to be very alive in every moment, because we're basically taking turns with our Susans. And so the other actors have to adjust to exactly what that person is doing. And it's not the same. Jenny's not the same as Eliza. Eliza's not the same as Jenny.
[SPEAKER_05]: At every rehearsal, Eliza's guide dog, Zynga, watches the action.
[SPEAKER_01]: When Zynga is off of her halter, she's just a dog who we get to play with. And that energy in the room has been really special.
[SPEAKER_05]: While it's all smiles in rehearsal, expect to find a little fear in the theater.
[SPEAKER_06]: We're going to put the audience in the same boat as Susan, where they can't see anything that's going on on the stage and they're going to have to listen.
[SPEAKER_03]: It's a mystery, it's a thriller, and it is genuinely scary.
[SPEAKER_05]: I would love to go see that, and I'd even pay extra if Zynga the dog is going to go as well.
[SPEAKER_02]: It just feels like a production where not only will the audience maybe learn something about themselves, but the cast had to to bring it to life. No question.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: I'm amazed. I mean, you shared the role with, what's her name, Jenny Lee?
[SPEAKER_06]: Jenny S. Lee, yes. She's an incredible actress, and I learned so very much from her. I think we both learned a lot from one another in the room and outside of the room, and we're such great friends to this day, so I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her and to now have a great friend.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: That's great. Now, do you, does it require, I mean, I'm just out of curiosity, does it require, like, a lot of practice? Like, when you, like, since you have a hard time seeing, do you, like, does it hit your marks or anything like that? Because when you were, when I was watching you on stage, you couldn't tell that you had low vision. I'm sorry, I keep mentioning that, but I was just amazed by it. I mean, you were just fabulous. Was it a lot of practice?
[SPEAKER_06]: it was I mean I think that whenever I get into a new environment if I'm going to be playing a role in that environment I always take the time to map out the stage or the scenery so that I can have an idea of, okay, how far is it from point A to point B? And I've become very quick with that because I've had a career in theater, or experience in theater, and have learned over time what I best need to accomplish that goal. But I treat it very much like my home. For example, if you close your eyes, I'm sure you can figure out how to get from your bathroom to your kitchen. not really um well um that that's kind of something i was always a mantra i was always given at least it was a joke of course of course i um i'm sure that you have the skills um definitely um you just had to have the confidence in yourself of course But no, I think that that's something that kind of allowed me to say, oh, well, that's something I can do, even though it might be scary that this is a new environment, I can turn it into my home. And I just had to be there and be practicing. So I would sometimes days go before rehearsal started and try to figure out the lay of the land. And luckily with this production, So many of the set pieces were in the exact same space that they were for the rehearsal space transferred over to the stage and that allowed me to really in the rehearsal time I don't remember how many weeks but a good amount of time in rehearsal to really Figure out that environment and then when I went on stage it may have been centimeters or inches of a difference But it really wasn't that big of a deal. So I I just adapted like I always do So yeah, were you ever were you ever nervous while doing performing while performing? Oh, yeah I mean I feel like every actor probably says this of if you don't have nerves and it's not something you care about but I think that the nerves They were really they came about because I wanted to make my community proud and that this was such a an important opportunity to do that with so I think that my nerves came from that and from also just the typical actor thing do well um and then there were also the nerves of Oh, am I going to bonk into such and such? And that was also a really beautiful thing because our director said, kind of like you said, if I don't bump into things, people are not going to know that I'm blind because I am moving so confidently around that stage.
[Unidentified]: I know, that's the thing.
[SPEAKER_06]: I was so impressed. Thank you, so I kind of had to take that liberty and say, you know what, the reality of being blind and bonking into things is what's going to happen, so why not let those nerves free and let what happens happen and bang into a chair because then the audience will know. Oh, all right, there's something I can relate the blindness to a little bit.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: yeah like i said i saw the audrey hepburn movie you know and like i said this girl puts audrey hepburn to shame audrey hepburn i don't think could ever be put to shame but thank you that is very sweet of you to say no but i mean you have i mean i i look at um actors who have disabilities like you have like Marlee Matlin who's deaf and uh... my friend I have a friend Kayla who was actually in the movie CODA which was based on a family in Gloucester that only the daughter could hear and she had to translate and Troy Couture who played the father who's deaf in real life actually won an Oscar and I think it's great to see people with disabilities because show business I'm an actor myself is a really tough hard business to get through I mean I've been through so many Auditions, I'm used to rejection, to be honest. I admire your courage, the fact that you don't let your disability stop you, and that you were able to do these amazing things. And I know that the blind community and the disability community is so proud of you. And I'm getting emotional because I feel proud, too. But I have a... I don't tell many people this. I have a disability myself. I'm not blind or deaf or anything, I have issues, you know, but I mean, there's no shame in it though. That's the thing. There should never be any shame. You are what you are, no matter what you are, you know. I think God gave you, put you on this earth for a reason, they say, they tell me. But anyway, but we're going to show your demo reel now. It's going to show you, she's a fantastic singer. Do you play any instruments, by the way?
[SPEAKER_06]: I play piano a little bit. I am not the best piano player, though, I will admit to that. So I am, of course, always learning and trying to become a better pianist. So yeah, that's that's my instrument of choice other than voice.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: You have more talent in your pinky than I have in my whole body. Anyway, we're going to show this clip, this demo reel of you. You're singing in all your past shows. So we're going to take a look. Here is the wonderful Eliza Barmakian.
[SPEAKER_07]: I want to be where the people are. I want to see, want to see them dancing, walking around on those, what do you call them again? Feet, clipping your fins, you don't get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing, strolling along down a... what's the word again? A street. Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun, wandering free. Wish I could be part of that world. First time I heard your voice Moonlight burst into the room and I saw your eyes And I catch my breath, and I laugh and blush, and I hear guitars. You are so good for me.
[Unidentified]: Longing to tell you what a brave and shy I, to the joyful two chances passed me by. Oh
[SPEAKER_07]: How can I say to go on without me? How, when I know you still need me so? How can I say not to dream about me? How could I ever know? How? could I ever know? Forgive me, can you forgive me, and hold me in your heart, and find a new way to love me, now that we're apart? ♪ We don't forget, we don't forget ♪ ♪ We don't forget, we don't forget ♪ ♪ We don't forget, we don't forget ♪ Some things will never end. A thrill of arm and rod. Love that I feel inside for you.
[Unidentified]: We're going to
[SPEAKER_07]: Sleep on stardust and time on bits of wood. You and I will find a Milky Way. We'll be back and explore.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Eliza, you are unbelievably talented. I mean, I see you're singing, you're dancing too. It just amazes me. First of all, we've got to ask you, what's next for you? What shows are you up to, coming up for you?
[SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, so in May 15th to the 16th, excuse me, to the 17th, I will be in a New Works Festival with TC Squared in Cambridge at the Foundry, where I will be performing in a new work of a play called One Name. It is about a Lebanese family who is trying to acquire visas for their family who is over in Lebanon currently. And so it's an amazing story that touches on our immigration system and what does it mean to be an American. So I'm very excited about that. And then... Where's this gonna be again? At the Foundry in Cambridge.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Oh, okay.
[SPEAKER_06]: Yes. And then after that, I don't have anything lined up right now, but I am constantly auditioning and I'm very excited to see what comes next. Hopefully in the end of the year, I will be having a solo concert somewhere. So check out my Instagram to find when that will be and where that will be. I'm still putting together the kinks for that, but I'm very excited.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: I'm so excited. We, Eliza, it was a pleasure to have you on. I mean, you were you're such a sweetheart. You are sweet. I mean, I can't thank you enough for being on. And if you want to people want to know more about you, where can they go? Just your Instagram or anything?
[SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, primarily my Instagram at Eliza Barmakin, just my name. And that's the best way right now. Hopefully I'll get out a website soon. And, and yeah,
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Oh my god. Eliza, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you. Thank you so much. You are such a sweet lady. You were so kind. I appreciate it. Thank you. And keep on pursuing your dream. I want to see you on Broadway one of these days.
[SPEAKER_07]: Thank you.
[Fn_5UfmqiiU_SPEAKER_06]: Thank you very much. Thank you to Eliza Barmakian. And that's all the time we have for the show ET with the Stevie B Show. As always, I'm Stevie B. I want to thank my guest, Eliza Barmakian. And we hope to see you next time on the Stevie B Show. So until then, take care, guys. Bye.
[Unidentified]: Yeah.