←Recommendations of Rough Draft

Marjorie was polishing this gem at the Vermont Studio Center where we both were in residence. So much to love and laugh with here: the plucky protagonist, the sly wit, the exasperation felt by every female playwright since the dawn of theater, the fun characterizations of historical characters. Enjoy!

Anyone who has ever written a play before can relate to Katie (or K.T.)’s journey through ROUGH DRAFT. Marjorie Bicknell weaves a witty, heartfelt, brilliant story of everything that went into getting a single award. I laughed out a few times (the Catholic professor was a favorite one-scene character) and related all too well to the ups and downs of a theatre professional’s journey to success. I say well done!

A riveting drama about the theater career about a resilient woman who wouldn't give up and we're rooting for her! Well done.

In “Rough Draft,” Marjorie Bicknell invites you into a world of heightened reality – the theatre, a world of already heightened reality – and one suspends disbelief willingly because Bicknell’s creation is so absurdly familiar, and her heroine so sympathetic one wants to be in this universe. The zingers fly, the punch lines land squarely, and underneath it all runs a flowing river of resentment: at being underestimated, at being brushed off, at having dreams ridiculed, at having to prove oneself over and over again – these feelings are universal, making “Rough Draft” laugh out loud funny, and seriously compelling.