'Down Past Passyunk' scribe plots progression

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A lone decision can cause a lifetime of rejoicing over or regretting one’s reasoning, but what of the lessons others can gather from that choice? Fond of that inquiry’s potency, A. Zell Williams penned “Down Past Passyunk,” a provocative play drawn from the 2006 incident through which Joey Vento, the now-deceased proprietor behind Geno’s Steaks, 1219 S. Ninth St., demanded that patrons speak English when ordering.

“I paid attention to my neighbors and their experiences,” the ex-resident of the 1600 block of South 10th Street said of his camaraderie with the community. “Because of that, I wanted to use recent history to tell a story unique and specific to them but also relatable to others.”

The 30-year-old chose change, particularly the refusal by Vento to accept it as the demographics of his establishment’s neighborhood came to include an influx of Hispanics, as his chief challenge to channel to audiences. Running through April 27 at the Adrienne Theatre, the play marks his second politically-charged work for InterAct Theatre Co., for whom he debuted “In a Daughter’s Eyes,” a Mumia Abu-Jamal-inspired inspection of contemporary African-American experiences, in ’11, the same year of Vento’s death.

“I wanted to write something that analyzed the price one can pay for remaining stagnant or stubborn,” the former East Passyunk Crossing dweller said of his current brainchild, which he began scripting during the ’12 presidential election cycle. “It’s definitely a bit of a morality play because the Vento character, Nicky Grillo, is forced to understand his community role and the consequences of his stances.”

Intensifying its composition as InterAct’s National New Play Networks Playwright-in-Residence, Williams, whose plot-executing peers include South Philly-based performers Brian Cowden and Alex Keiper and director Matt Pfeiffer, approached the piece as an examination of striving for accord where discord seemingly rules. In doing so, he has also gained more respect for what can come from seeing how addressing similarities and differences informs and strengthens notions of humanity, especially one’s own.

“It’s our role as good citizens to try to understand where people are coming from,” the unrestrained writer said. “It’s perfectly fine to disagree, and we have to believe others are just as capable of exploring and explaining topics even if we don’t share mindsets or philosophies.”

Wanting the play to feel as realistic as possible, Williams has greatly relied on its hires to infuse it with their knowledge of local life and has granted it a script loyal to his allegiance to approaching language in a measured, deliberate fashion. Combining his colleagues’ expertise with his curiosity, Williams believes he has done far more than explore the viewpoints of Vento, whom he confessed one could definitely deem “a stubborn man of the past” for not acknowledging newness’ possibilities.

“I’ve vowed to remain aware of the vast options we have when interacting with one another,” he said. “As a writer, it’s more interesting to be observant. If you’re not observing, you’re lecturing.”

One could contend Williams has always possessed a propensity for understanding diversity, as he hails from California, which never lacks for numerous cultures to contribute to its identity. Splitting time between Fresno and Stockton, he keenly analyzed local and national developments, centering on the manner of language used for their conveyance and convergence.

“Comedy served as a huge inspiration and motivator,” he said of his writing origins, with George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Chris Rock as the leading laugh and thought providers. “Those were guys who could use brilliant words to express social matters and reach people to bring about change.”

A mammoth movie buff, Williams, a theater major when matriculating at Santa Clara University, believed he could encourage similar alterations among audiences and gravitated toward acting. Growing uncomfortable with waiting for compelling endeavors, he moved from memorizing lines to guiding their execution as a director but eventually became jaded with that task, too.

“I find theater incredibly useful for sparking conversations,” Williams said of his resolute dedication to playwrighting. “There are incredible voices in the field, and I’m striving to learn from them and be an educator myself.”

With well-documented political and theatrical identities, Chicago played a pivotal role in strengthening his skills, as he served as the African American Fellow in Theatre Management for the Windy City-situated Steppenwolf Theatre Co. and the Assistant to the Chair of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Believing he became a discerning adult in the Midwest, he added East Coast tutelage to his maturation by acquiring a master’s degree from New York University.

“We live in a time when it’s undeniably important to get at the core of who we are, what we believe in and what we feel we can offer to push society forward,” Williams, who moved to South Philly shortly after his Empire State educational experience, said. “What makes us all human, what drives us? I’m looking at those questions all the time now.”

Though he has left the area for New York City, where he is enjoying a Tow Foundation Emerging Playwright Residency for the Public Theater, the writer retains an interest in what he feels Philadelphians, especially South Philly inhabitants, must do to advance, which he tabbed as being more receptive to refinements, particularly if they find themselves tempted to change long-held beliefs on a topic.

“We’re all contributors to the conversations if we want to be,” Williams, who for his New York assignment is penning a piece about a hip-hop superstar who yearns to create an urban memoir and is contemplating an adaptation of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope,” said. “We need to be involved. There are big things to address, and we can either confront them or let them dominate us. I know my choice.” ■

For tickets, visit interacttheatre.org.

Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124. Comment at southphillyreview.com/news/lifestyles.

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