Hidden Gems: Meet Will Block of The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Block. They and their team shared their story with us below:

The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company was founded in 2006 by Charles Pasternak, Edward Castuera, and Jack Leahy. All three were recent graduates of Pali High in the Pacific Palisades and aspiring actors struggling to find work. They decided that if they were going to be working for free, they might as well be working for themselves. 

Our first production – an eight-actor adaptation of Julius Caesar – opened that December with Leahy playing Brutus, Castuera as Octavius, and Pasternak directing and playing Mark Antony. Rounding out the cast were actors who would go on to become company stalwarts and Associate Artistic Directors: Gus Krieger as Cassius and Thomas Bigley as Decius Brutus. 

As the company continued to produce, we gradually honed in on the goal of finishing Shakespeare’s commonly accepted canon of thirty-eight plays. To date, we have produced thirty-two, with just six remaining. 

In 2022, Charles Pasternak was named the Artistic Director of Santa Cruz Shakespeare. Will Block was named his successor and has held the post since. 

We pride ourselves on creating textually clear, excitingly staged, and financially accessible productions for LA audiences. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The course of producing theatre “never did run smooth,” especially not intimate theatre. The whole industry has had to deal with setbacks in recent years. There was obviously the shutdown necessitated by the pandemic, which has received much media attention and remains an issue that every new production must contend with. On top of that, small California theatres are dealing with AB-5, which was a measure passed in 2019 to protect Uber and Lyft drivers and mandates that all businesses pay essential workers as employees rather than 1099 contractors, which means that those businesses are on the hook for additional taxes, insurance, pension, and Social Security… Prop 22 gave Uber and Lyft an exemption, but arts organizations are still having to handle the additional costs, on top of reopening after a pandemic that decimated the industry. 

We’re fortunate in that we don’t have a building to maintain, and so our overhead is greatly reduced. But many, many theatres are struggling. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company?
The Porters of Hellsgate produce intimate, visceral, relevant, engaging, and affordable productions of classic plays for each and every member of our community. We began as, and remain, a collective of creatives bound together by a passion for the works of Shakespeare. We know that Shakespeare’s works sing when they are done in communion with an audience (Shakespeare’s performance tradition ignores the fourth wall), and we thrill at immersing our audiences in the worlds he creates. 

We pride ourselves on maintaining a core company of artists and believe that the work is heightened by these longstanding collaborations. Many companies claim to be families; we pride ourselves on it, and our work is always driven by ensemble-based processes that value the contributions of the actors as equal collaborators, which is (as far as we know) equivalent to the power structure of Shakespeare’s original company, the Lord Chamberlain’s (and later the King’s) Men. 

It’s a great pleasure to invest in artists: to give them an artistic home and the opportunity to grow in their craft while tackling some of the best-written characters the Western canon has to offer. 

Finally, and most importantly, we believe that Shakespeare’s work (and high-quality theatre in general) is a birthright. We work hard to create accessible work. 

We know that Shakespeare’s language can be a barrier for some potential audience members. Our work is always rooted in rigorous text work. Our actors are highly trained and know how to make the language clear and compelling for a modern ear. Our productions seek to illuminate the plays through clear and honest acting and bold staging choices. 

We also believe that the work needs to be financially accessible. Since 2023, we’ve capped all ticket prices at $15. Additionally, we launched a successful “ticket donation bank,” where patrons could buy additional tickets which then became available by lottery to audience members who would otherwise be unable to attend. 

Pricing:

• $15 Tickets–General Admission
• $10 Tickets–Students, Seniors, Union members, Veterans
• $0–all readings

Contact Info:

• Website: www.portersofhellsgate.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/portersofhellsgate/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePortersOfHellsgate/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@portersofhellsgate

Image Credits
Lucia Towers
Jesse Saler
Mike Quain
Rob Cunliffe