Courtesy of Miles Barbee
Miles Barbee had no interest in being an actor until one day, while working as a crew member for ASL Films, two actors and the director of photography urged him to audition for the Deaf West Theatre's production of Spring Awakening. He did, moved to Los Angeles... and eventually to New York City to perform on Broadway. "I was lucky ... from the beginning with no acting experience or passion of acting," Barbee says. "The whole experience really changed my life, and I have found my passion in acting." Now you can watch Barbee as he stars in Tribes, presented by the St. Louis Actors' Studio and playing at The Gaslight Theater on November 30 until December 16. In Tribes, Barbee plays Billy, born deaf into a hearing family who doesn't learn sign language until Sylvia, a hearing woman born to deaf parents who is slowly going deaf herself, teaches him. Gaslight Theater will be donating $2 from each ticket sale to DEAF Inc., St. Louis and will sign opening night as well as Sunday and Thursday performances for deaf audience members. Below, Barbee talked to SLM about the challenging role of Billy.
What drew you to Tribes?
I have performed as Billy in Tribes before. This is my second time doing this play. I have to admit I didn’t want to do it again because of the way Billy was written in the play. Billy doesn’t have a lot of lines with his family at the beginning of Act 1. I do understand the author’s intention was to show that Billy is left out in his hearing family until he meets a deaf woman who helps to give him a voice in sign language. Billy found his tribe, where he belonged, in the deaf community. My director, Annamaria Pileggi, really helped me to understand why it was written that way, and she gave a new perspective of Billy. There were a moment in the scene that bothered me the most: Billy's hearing aid battery was dying, and Billy’s father recognized it before Billy did. Annamaria helped me to understand the author’s intention of writing this part of the play. I also have to emphasize this: This play is just one perspective of thousands of deaf or hard of hearing [people] who grew up in hearing families that don’t sign. There are variety of different layers of deafness, family beliefs in not signing or signing, how many siblings they have, the list goes on.
What's the best part of playing Billy?
Understanding the perspective of what it’s like to be in a full-hearing family with a father who doesn’t accept sign language because he wants Billy to be "normal" like other hearing people.
The most challenging?
The hardest part of playing Billy is doing this play in British Sign Language because my original language is American Sign Language. My brain keeps wanting to sign in ASL.
In the trailer for Tribes, you say that Billy's family reminds you of your own. In what way?
I come from a deaf family—both of my parents are deaf. I have two hearing brothers and two deaf brothers. I am used to all of us talking over each other and each of us have had competition with the others, just like in the play. In the play, Billy’s siblings constantly talk over each other and compete with each other... except for Billy because he is left out from understanding what’s going on. However, Billy is a peacemaker. He can read his siblings and his parents, if they are upset about something specifically. It's just like how I am with my family. I usually predict why my brothers or parents are mad or upset because I can read them well. Billy and I are much alike. We sit back and observe.
Tribes deals with themes of belonging and the limits of communication. How have you experienced this in your own life?
In elementary school, I went to mainstream school with some other deaf students. We had one class where we came together and learned from a teacher who signed. I already experienced being in both worlds at a young age. When I moved to middle school, I was the only deaf student in the entire school, and I felt alone because I couldn’t understand them since they wouldn’t slow down or face me in a group or over the lunch table. It didn’t matter if I was as smart as them. Once I couldn’t understand them, they thought I was dumb. It was only because the sound coming out of their mouths doesn’t make sense to me due to my deafness. If they wrote it down, I would understand clearly and answer back with equal knowledge. So I begged my parents to transfer me to a deaf school and they said no until 8th grade. I finally moved and fit in with no problem. I spoke in my first language and was able to communicate back and forth faster than trying to talk with a hearing person. Now I am living on my own, and I do see which group I belong in. It’s my identity to be in the deaf community, which is small compared to the hearing world.
