The Dramatists Guild is deeply saddened by the loss of Marjorie Bicknell, who passed away in October 2023. A playwright, advocate, and DG Philadelphia Regional Rep, Marjorie’s tremendous impact continues to reverberate throughout the theatre community. Three writers pay tribute to her legacy below.
Marj Bicknell and I met 25 years ago. Little did I know then that this joyful, energetic, talkative newcomer to central PA would become my sister in playwriting and a loving friend. Marj’s talents transcended writing for the stage. Marj could act (she was the lead in many shows), sing (she could belt out “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” as well as Ethel Merman), and direct (she had a gift for discovering every nuance of a script, including mine). There are five theatres in a ten-mile radius of one another in central PA, and every theatre knows the name of Marj Bicknell. Marj has performed, sung, directed, written, and cleaned a bathroom or two for all five with little or no pay. Just a few lines in a playbill. Marj and I were members of different writing groups over the years. We took PlayPenn’s craft classes together; attended Dramatists Guild Conferences and workshops together; cheered each other’s successes; mourned each other’s rejections. In 2008 she single-handedly made Playwrights Alliance of Pennsylvania (PAPA) a 501(c)(3) to give voice and support to local playwrights. Her creativity and generous spirit inspired others, but especially me. I felt a void when Marj moved to Philly, but working as her DG Ambassador here in central PA kept us writing and laughing together. Moving on now without her seems cruel and unfair. But I’ve heard Marj say, “I’m not going to hide my light under a bushel.” So here’s to light! Her light and ours. Keep shining.
Good luck. May the best playwright win! (You or me, of course.)” This was Marjorie Bicknell’s message to me in 2008 when we were both running for Philadelphia Region DG Representative. I was active in the Philadelphia Dramatists Center (PDC) where she was President. At the time, I took her “you or me” as politesse. Little did I know.
Marj won, of course. She later nominated me as a DG Ambassador for Philadelphia. And so our partnership began. Within a year of being elected, Marj organized four significant DG events, such as two playwright meet and greets, a director/dramatists speed dating session, and Banned Together. 2020 started out even more promising with more events, including a planned eight DG Footlights readings in six months. We got as far as March.
Marj, of course, wasn’t about to let the pandemic get in our way. Zoom it was! I was suddenly thrust into the role of online technical director. This was frequently my part of the partnership: resident geek. During the lockdown, we showcased even more plays than before, including a multi-day one-act festival. We also presented other DG events online during this period. This momentum continued through the subsequent masking, social distancing, and unmasking, all the way into this year.
The more I got to know Marj, the more I saw how unflappable she was. The conversations at our first lunches were mostly about the business at hand. Gradually, the lunches stretched to three hours or more. Eventually, most of what we talked about had nothing to do with the Guild. Marj did most of the talking. And most of what she said was funny. I learned about her early days in Chicago, her favorite shows as a performer, her struggles as a writer, and the latest script she was working on. She was always working on a script. And she was always taking classes to improve as a writer.
I’m not the only one who marveled at how much Marj accomplished in a given day/month/year/lifetime. She’s been described as “a force of nature.” She was also “a force of humanity.” She was proud of being Regional Rep. Proud of her work. Just as proud of the people in the Philadelphia theatrical community. Sure, she longed for success and dreamed of the accolades that come with it. Just like everyone. But she also understood individual success and accolades are fleeting. There is a greater calling.
Marj was one of the few who had the capacity to unselfishly aid in the success of others, to genuinely celebrate their successes as if they were her own. She genuinely cared about others. Not just in her thoughts but in her actions. She was a “you or me” person all the way. A mentor. A leader. Her plays demonstrated a concern for humanity. They celebrated humanity. And she knew how to make you laugh.
Marj was one of the dearest friends I’ve ever known. Someday I need to visit Chicago. I promised her I would.
Marjorie Bicknell was not just a beloved member of many communities, but a friend and a fierce advocate for all of what she believed. She held the door open for others, always, sometimes before herself. Advocacy was a part of her DNA. She was passionate, always spoke her mind, and her expansive vision of possibility was inspiring. Her immeasurable contributions to the Dramatists Guild and her local arts community have presented a tangible imprint on both her own city of Philadelphia, and the fabric of who we are today as an organization.
I first met Marjorie when she joined the Regional Rep program in 2018 as the DG Regional Rep for Philadelphia, though her relationship with the Guild began in 1982 when she joined as a member. We exchanged many emails and meetings, as she was one of the most consistently active Reps, always percolating new ideas, and the Philadelphia new writing community was quite lucky to have her in ways that are hard to quantify. I’ll do my best to share some of her many achievements in this memoriam.
In her time within her station, she was arguably one of the most active and resilient Regional Reps to contribute to Dramatists Guild initiatives. She held space for nearly, if not more than, 100 Footlights new play readings for writers all across the Philadelphia region; aided in launching the first-ever 24 Hour Plays in Philadelphia; introduced a meaningful relationship with Seth Rozin of InterAct Theatre; contributed events for Philly Theatre Week; reported on behalf of Regional Reps and Ambassadors at several DG Annual Meetings; wrote numerous National Reports lifting up the Philadelphia community; forged a relationship with the Apollo Awards in offering student DG memberships for the winner of their Outstanding Student Playwriting Award; aided in organizing one of our most robustly successful DG Industry Nights Out at Fergie’s Pub in conjunction with the LMDA Conference 2022; built cross-country collaborative programming with other states; and collaborated in workshops with DG Council Member Jeffrey Sweet, amongst many other achievements. She worked consistently and tirelessly to find new avenues of forging opportunities for those seeking mutual support and community. The truth is, to list all of her contributions, this memoriam would surely go on for quite some length.
In the last several years, much of her hard work began to pay off as her own star began to rise. She recently joined the PlayPenn 2023/24 Cohort of writers, remained an active participant and advocate for Honor Roll!, a grassroots group dedicated to advocacy and action for women+ playwrights over the age of 40, and consistently fought for the visibility of older emerging artists. We can only imagine what wonderful things were in store for her, what she had to share yet, and those she would surely take with her along the journey. For that is the spirit of who she was, and why she remains so dearly cherished and missed by many.
