Douglas Williams

Douglas Williams

Williams' plays have been produced and developed at SPACE on Ryder Farm, Great Plains Theatre Conference, PlayPenn, Azuka Theatre, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, The Foundry & The Painted Bride, among others.

Williams’ play SHIP was awarded the M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award and was a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA Award. His play Shitheads was the winner of 4...
Williams' plays have been produced and developed at SPACE on Ryder Farm, Great Plains Theatre Conference, PlayPenn, Azuka Theatre, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, The Foundry & The Painted Bride, among others.

Williams’ play SHIP was awarded the M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award and was a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA Award. His play Shitheads was the winner of 4 Philadelphia Critics' Awards including Best New Play & Best Overall Production.

He is the Playwright-In-Residence at Azuka Theatre and a co-founder of Philadelphia's critically acclaimed producing playwrights collective Orbiter 3—the youngest company ever to win a Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre.

Plays

  • SHIP by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 13
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: Guinness Book of World Records, records + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: Guinness Book of World Records, records, mysticism, Connecticut, Stonington, Fingernails, substance abuse, Recovery, opioid addiction, opioid crisis
    Fresh out of rehab, Nell returns to her hometown of Mystic, CT with two goals: track down her former classmate who tried and failed to grow the longest fingernails in the world, and be promoted to the most high profile job in town: tour guide at the Seaport. With the help and hindrance of her older sister, Nell grabs at her chance for hometown glory – but it’s not as easy as it looks.
  • White Ally by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: privilege, Performative Allyship + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: privilege, Performative Allyship, racism, White Fragility, education, public school, Architecture
    Over the course of one tense evening inside a Brooklyn apartment, ideologies and political views clash as Tiana and Wyatt, two childhood friends recently reacquainted, discuss race, privilege and white fragility.
  • I Live You [autocorrect] by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Digital detox, technology addiction + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, mystery/thriller, political
    Keyword: Digital detox, technology addiction, wellness, retreat, Google
    Most days, Sara’s only in-depth conversation is with the Google Home that sits next to her bed. Drowning in technology and overworked at her job at Zipcar, Sara travels to a remote location in Upstate New York for the soft opening of a new, mysterious digital detox retreat.
  • Shitheads by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: Bikes, bike shop + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, mystery/thriller, political
    Keyword: Bikes, bike shop, loser, blue collar, misfits, recession, small business
    Bert's Bikes and Sports, a down-and-out bike shop in lower Manhattan, is on its last leg. Customers have vanished, the shop across the street is poaching their best mechanics, and the new guy they just hired doesn't even own a bike. Now that Alex has finally been promoted to manager, he'll need to get creative in order to save the shop he loves -- and he just so happens to have an idea that could...
    Bert's Bikes and Sports, a down-and-out bike shop in lower Manhattan, is on its last leg. Customers have vanished, the shop across the street is poaching their best mechanics, and the new guy they just hired doesn't even own a bike. Now that Alex has finally been promoted to manager, he'll need to get creative in order to save the shop he loves -- and he just so happens to have an idea that could bring Bert's back from the dead...

    "Douglas Williams’ funny, touching play may be the best 90 minutes you’ll spend in a theater this year."
    -Philadelphia Magazine

    "A smart, well-produced, fascinating new play...One of the most assured and complete premieres of a play I’ve ever seen."
    -Broad Street Review

    "Terrific...Endearing, funny, with a depth of character that is absolutely compelling."
    -Phindie
  • Bon Iver Fights A Bear by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: adventure, biography + 8 more
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    Keyword: Bon Iver, folk music + 6 more
    Genre: adventure, biography, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, musical, parody/spoof, satire
    Keyword: Bon Iver, folk music, music, actor-musicians, folk, nature, fantasia, Talking Animals
    A fantasia based on Bon Iver writing his seminal debut album in a secluded cabin in the winter woods - told through the eyes of a crazy fucking grizzly bear who thinks his music sucks.
  • Moon Cave by Douglas Williams
    Recommendations: 7
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller
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    Keyword: mental illness, trauma + 6 more
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: mental illness, trauma, regret, notoriety, love, Relationships, dark, secrets
    Richard doesn't remember last night. He doesn't remember meeting Rachel, or what they talked about, or when they came back to her apartment together. So the next morning when she tells him about the things he revealed to her, secrets about a life he's been hiding for years, it begins a journey for them both into Richard's chilling past. A nuanced look at notoriety, responsibility, and living...
    Richard doesn't remember last night. He doesn't remember meeting Rachel, or what they talked about, or when they came back to her apartment together. So the next morning when she tells him about the things he revealed to her, secrets about a life he's been hiding for years, it begins a journey for them both into Richard's chilling past. A nuanced look at notoriety, responsibility, and living with mistakes.

    "MOON CAVE is a dark, complex drama with integrity...Douglas Williams' first professional production, and he couldn't ask for better."
    -Philadelphia City Paper

    "Extremely powerful...MOON CAVE is a bittersweet piece of theater that touches deeply into the idea of attempting to live with a sordid past."
    -Geekadelphia

    "An impressive debut."
    -Curtain Up