By Tyler Shute
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Marjorie Sokoloff is a teacher and head of the Theatre Department at Camden County College. She has directed and acted in hundreds of plays and has written a few pieces.
Marjorie Sokoloff converses with a coworker in the hallway of Lincoln Hall. By Tyler Shute, CCC Journalism Program
“My favorite piece that I’ve written is my adaptation of ‘Snow White,’ one because it’s very, very meaningful to me and it got so much accolade. I’ve won some major prizes for that, that actually helped put my husband and I into our first house,” Sokoloff said.
Sokoloff has been on the stage since she was 7 or 8 years old. She started to get paid as an actress in her teen years.
“The rejection never stops. It’s next to impossible, it’s not romantic, it’s not glamorous, it’s just brutal, brutal,” said Sokoloff about the obstacles of being an actress.
She has directed many plays at CCC, including “Company,” which was performed last month.
“I was very, very pleased with ‘Company.’ Incredibly difficult music, difficult casting and difficult staging. I think we achieved it at a lot of levels and I think it was really sophisticated work for us,” Sokoloff said.
Donald Swenson, the theatre technician/teacher administrator at CCC, has known Sokoloff for about seven years and they have worked on 23 plays together.
“Our working relationship is probably the best I’ve ever had. We talk, we argue, we try and make sure that every show is as artful as we can make it. My job is to create a visual representation of her vision for the show,” Swenson said. “She is super creative, super talented, very passionate individual who cares about her students and about how artistic each and every one of our shows are.”
The 23rd play that Sokoloff and Swenson are working on now is “Great Expectations,” which will be performed in December.
“Going quickly, we’ve only rehearsed for four weeks here, we are really nailing it out. We’ve had maybe five rehearsals so far. It’s long ways away but it’s looking good,” Sokoloff said about the progress of “Great Expectations.”
Sokoloff has been teaching at CCC for 10 years.
“I find it challenging to keep the students realistic. I find that a lot of students I get in theatre have no idea what’s really coming their way,” Sokoloff said.
For more information about upcoming shows and ticket reservations, check out http://www.stagesccc.com.