HOLY NAME–An Interview with Michael Eichler

He chose a Holy Name.

Tell us about yourself.

I have been writing for only five years. Prior to that I had two careers. The first was as a community organizer. I worked in low-income neighborhoods around the country and trained young people in a model of community organizing called Consensus Organizing. My second career was as a university professor, teaching in the Social Work School at SDSU. Both careers gave me plenty of ideas for play writing.

Tell us about your play HOLY NAME.

HOLY NAME is set in a working class neighborhood in the 60’s. It centers on one family and their mentally ill mother. It is my hope that the play can serve as a starting point for people to think of the devastation that mental illness can cause in today’s families and show how little we have advanced in the past century.

What are some of your challenges with HOLY NAME?

One challenge in the play is that one of the sons is 12. It is a key role and pretty demanding. Another challenge is that you can’t have too many light moments in a play with this theme. Will the audience be okay with that?

What is your next step?

My next step for the play is to have a workshop production. That’s the only way to really know what you have.

Thanks for talking to us about HOLY NAME. Good luck with the reading and workshop production!

There will be a reading of HOLY NAME on Tuesday, March 25th at 7:30 p.m. at Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115. Reservations can be made by calling 619 594 3870 or emailing jenmartinez@mail.sdsu.edu. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds benefit the Consensus Organizing Center.

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