Marjorie Nelson, former Cornish Faculty, actor, director, producer, and activist, died February 12th after a brief illness. Richard E.T. White, Chair of the Theater Department at Cornish shares some memories of Marjorie:
“When I started at Cornish, I was pleased to hire Marjorie to teach workshops in the Alexander Technique to some of our students. I remember vividly how moved and inspired the students were afterwards, talking about how gentle yet revelatory her touch was.
My first memory of Marjorie is also my first memory of Seattle Repertory Theatre — a searing production of John Arden’s anti-war drama Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance, highlighted by Josef Sommer’s brilliant incarnation of the central role, and Marjorie’s earthy, cynical and pointed performance of his ideological antagonist, Mrs. Hitchcock. She and Sommer were paired again later that season as Eddie and Bea Carbone in A View from the Bridge, where her versatility was evident in the heart-wrenching sensitivity of her portrayal of a woman who loved a man who was falling apart in front of her eyes. Marjorie exemplified the company ethic of the early days of the Rep with her versatility and unerring aim at the heart of every character she played. I became a theater worker because of those two productions as much as anything I saw in my college years.
A couple of years ago I met with Marjorie because she was thinking about bequeathing her library of theater books to Cornish. We spent a lovely afternoon at her house, her reminiscing about her early years as an actress, her association with theater legends like Brecht, Laughton, Howard Da Silva, Phoebe Brand and more, me marveling at the depth and richness of her experience. It was theater wonderland for me."
Click here for more information or to share your thoughts or memories or to read the Seattle Times obituary.
Click here to read more about Marjorie’s life.
