Ilya Eckstein | Script Translation

Ilya Eckstein (Script Translation into English and Stage Adaptation)

Ilya was born into a Jewish family in Kiev in 1977. Soon after he turns 13, his family moves to Israel, where Ilya first began acting on stage and immediately falls in love with theater. In his early 20s, he studies at Technion during the day, and moonlights at a small, family run Mushkatin theater at night. He was often referred to as a "renaissance man", and in keeping with this new title, he moves to LA, pursuing both a PhD in computer science and an acting dream.

Here, in 2008, he translates "The Star Without a Name" by Mihail Sebastian into English; a "terrific play", as he referred to it. He plans to stage it one day, and to play the main protagonist, Miroyu. He shares his own thoughts on the play: "It is a tragicomical story of an unlikely encounter between two human beings from very different worlds, which offers them a chance to change their destinies. The fundamental question is: can a star ever stray from its predefined course?"

A tragedy interferes with his plan. But while Ilya is not here with us today, he comes alive in this play, and this encourages me to continue talking about him in the present tense. This is as close as I can get to changing the course of his star.

                                                                                                       - Natalia Eckstein