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Playwright A. Zell Williams is horrible at small talk, or so he claims. But he’s using his time as the Tow Foundation Emerging Playwright-in-Residence to get to know a lot of people, creating Sadiddy: the Storytellers’ Podcast, for which he regularly interviews theater artists about their life and work.

Megan McClain recently turned the interview mic back at Williams, asking about everything from the podcast to his recent Barrymore Award-winning play “Down Past Passyunk.”

MEGAN MCLAIN: Let’s talk about the podcast you’re doing for your residency at the Public? What inspired you to create it?
A. ZELL WILLIAMS: I started the podcast in September 2012 because I like podcasts. I like talking, I like asking people questions. I’m very horrible at small talk, which is bad in general, but it’s actually really good in regards to interviewing. I really hate talking about things that don’t matter. So when you ask someone about their life and things that are important — that’s exciting. I also just wanted an excuse to hang out with really cool playwrights I love, and I wanted to do something that was sort of artistic and didn’t require getting the okay from any artistic director or…

Originally posted on Civilians Extended Play

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