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Douglas Williams loves living in Philadelphia, marking the metropolis as a creative haven humming with hysteria for provocative material. Through Sunday, the 27-year-old playwright is presenting his latest daring text, “Moon Cave,” which focuses on the possibility of forging a fruitful future when one’s present is fraught with fear over the past.
“We all enter into relationships with a certain amount of baggage,” the resident of the 1900 block of Latona Street said of a primary premise of his world premiere endeavor. “We wonder if we’re adequate since we often have an idea of the level of our vulnerability. The question becomes ‘Will people remain committed to us once they learn certain details?’”
To tackle that heavy inquiry, the Point Breeze inhabitant has crafted Richard, who has carried into adulthood childhood trauma that gained national exposure, and Rachel, played by South Philly denizen Taysha Canales. The male lead must ponder the power of trust in seeking solace, with Williams addressing the lowering of one’s guard through Azuka Theatre.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity that he has given me,” the scribe said of Azuka’s producing artistic director and former South Philly dweller Kevin Glaccum. “It’s been great to grasp the trajectory of how people receive and perceive plays, which is vital to me as a creator and an appreciator of theater.”
Though dealing with dark dilemmas, “Moon Cave” has the writer reveling in the levity that he and Glaccum are sharing in executing the 95-minute work. As playwright-in-residence, Williams is celebrating his second collaboration with Azuka, the inaugural exposure having come with last year’s staged reading of “The Death and Life of Uncle Gene.” With additional awareness of his talent coming through Williams’ penning of “S***heads,” a finalist in last year’s Lark’s Playwrights Week and a semifinalist in 2013’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Playwrights Conference, and presence within the early-career playwright group The Foundry, Glaccum tabbed the local for the residency, resulting in a piece that he trumpets as his first true work.
“It called for me to create in a different way,” Williams said of constructing his largest opus. “It feels alive and gives me a sense of pride to be able to have audiences wonder about who we all are when searching for love and acceptance. We have to recognize our impulses and go about figuring how we can reconcile any mistakes we’ve made and try hard to promote the goodness within us.”
With Richard, Williams is capturing the conundrums that people can encounter when wondering if they are worthy of wonderful endowments, such as the acquisition of affection. The script calls for the character to reduce his trepidation, which the playwright sees as an acknowledgment of the beauty of being confused.
“We all want answers,” Williams said. “It’s problematic when we think we should be our lone sources for them.”
The Indiana native often enlisted movies as solution providers during boyhood. When adolescence commenced, he began to make his own films and soon found himself enthralled with 1970s cinema, particularly the output of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford-Coppola.
“It was amazing to discover such great stuff in high school,” Williams said of matriculating at Connecticut’s Stonington High School “I felt so engrossed in the possibility of trying to make my mark in that field.”
Seeking to sign off as a resident of The Constitution State, he chose Temple University, with theater immersion eventually giving his film fascination some healthy competition. With knowledge of established works and burgeoning interest in contemporary creations, which he noted as appealing for often being “gritty and edgy,” he became a doubly discerning student, with his senior film thesis having theatrical qualities.
“I love storytelling and developed this rampant enthusiasm for seeing that played out on the stage,” Williams, whose boundless eagerness took him back to Connecticut then to New York for positions with the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Ars Nova ANT Fest and Wide Eyed Productions. “Through those opportunities, I gained amazing exposure to this world to the point where I can’t fathom abandoning it or not giving it my all.”
As evidenced by his receipt of a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Silver Award, the ever-evolving plot hatcher has situated himself among many talented stage personnel, including numerous South Philly peers, whom he commends for establishing a great community where “everyone sees everyone’s plays.” Along with the aforementioned works, Williams has won wooers through SoLow and FringeArts festivals entries, providing even more distance between himself and his early days when he found being able to put on readings an extremely delightful occurrence.
“I came to theater kind of late and had to play catch-up in a sense,” Williams, who next month will mark another element of his evolution with the Ambler-staged “The Asbestos Project,” said. “I like that challenge and I’m valuing the rewards of sticking with it.”
He counts his founding member status for Orbiter 3, a producing playwrights collective that includes South Philly residents James Ijames and Mary Tuomanen, as one such boon. The three-year initiative, according to Williams’ website, will make “inclusive, accessible theater that accepts risk, values local artists and chases the playwright’s vision.” With 50 pages of a “rough, crazy play” thus far, he will offer a work next year.
“I love having the opportunity to do whatever as a member of a new company,” Williams mused. “I like stretching myself. You have to do so to make it in theater.”
For tickets, call 215-563-1100, or visit azukatheatre.org.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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