Welcome! We are The Porters of Hellsgate.

“Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hellsgate, he should have old turning the key… Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the porter.”
-The Scottish Play, Act 2, Scene 3

We are a young classical theatre company based in Los Angeles, CA. It is our intent to bring the work of Shakespeare and other classical authors to life here in the City of Angels.

We do this because we love it. There is great joy in studying and staging the masters. It is also our belief that in our electronic and virtual age the communal experience of theatre – and classical theatre’s communion with the past – is vitally important. Ours is an art that media can at times push out but never replace; we are proud of that, and are working to help keep the classics alive and well in Los Angeles.

It is our hope to one day be a major force in the theatrical community of our city. No matter how difficult that path is, nothing can stop us from having an incredible time trying to get there.

The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Company was founded in 2006 by Edward Castuera, Jack Leahy and Charles Pasternak. Their inaugural production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar opened at the end of that year. Since then The Porters have produced fourteen more of Shakespeare’s plays: Twelfth Night (’07), King Richard III (’07), Titus Andronicus (’07), Two Gentlemen of Verona (’07/’08), Much Ado About Nothing (’08), Macbeth (’08), Love’s Labour’s Lost (’08), King Richard II (’09), Hamlet (’10), The Comedy of Errors (‘10), The Merchant of Venice (’11), Troilus & Cressida (’12), The Merry Wives of Windsor (’12), and Measure for Measure (’12),  as well as Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (’10, in rep. with Hamlet), an original work, Deity Clutch (originally produced in ’10, then remounted for the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival), penned by Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger, and the world premiere of a new translation of Oedipus the Tyrant (’11), translated by resident artist Jamey Hecht, Ph.D.

In 2010, Artistic Director Charles Pasternak was awarded “Shakespeare Performance of the Year” by StageSceneLA for his performance in the title role of Hamlet in The Porters’ production of The Bard’s timeless tragedy (which also received a “GO!” from the LA Weekly). Also awarded, Founding Director Edward Castuera, in the role of Horatio, earning “Best Performance by a Featured Actor/Drama,” and Associate Artistic Director Thomas Bigley, earning “Outstanding Direction of a Drama.” In 2011, Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger and resident artist Liza de Weerd were both honored with “Best Leading Actor in a Comedy/Drama” awards by StageSceneLA for their work as Shylock and Portia, respectively, in The Porters’ production of The Merchant of Venice.In 2012, Associate Artistic Director Gus Krieger won StageSceneLA’s “Best Performance in a Shakespeare Play” for his work as Master Ford in The Porters’ Merry Wives of Windsor, which also garnered Artistic Director Charles Pasternak an “Outstanding Direction of a Shakespeare Play” award, and resident artist Dylan Vigus an “Outstanding Performance in a Shakespeare Play” award for his take on Sir John Falstaff.

It is the Porters’ continuing intent to bring powerful productions of classical work to the Los Angeles community.

We pray you, remember the Porters…