CHARLES PASTERNAK (Artistic Director, Resident Artist)

As a director with The Porters: The Merry Wives of Windsor; Troilus and Cressida; Comedy of Errors; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Richard II; Love’s Labour’s Lost; Much Ado About Nothing; Two Gentlemen of Verona; Richard III; Twelfth Night; Julius Caesar. As an actor with The Porters: Oedipus; Hamlet (Stage Scene LA Award); Berowne; Valentine; Titus; Malvolio; Marc Antony. Regional acting credits: King Louis/Felton in The Three Musketeers and Vernon in Henry IV, part 1 (’11), Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and Rinaldo in All’s Well That Ends Well (’08) with Shakespeare Santa Cruz; Venticelli in Amadeus with Theatrical Arts International; Duvid in A Shayna Maidel with International City Theatre, Long Beach; Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet with The Shakespeare Center of LA.

He prays you, remember the Porters…

THOMAS BIGLEY (Associate Artistic Director,  Resident Artist)

Mr. Bigley has been with the company since the beginning, and was delighted to champion The Porters’ productions of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Hamlet in repertoire by directing Hamlet, playing Rosencrantz, and arranging a fundraiser in the fall of 2009. Other directing credits with the company include Oedipus the Tyrant (where he also played Creon), The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure (where he also played The Duke), and King Lear. He has been seen in many roles with the company, including the title role in Richard II, Proteus in The Two Gentlemen of Verona,  Rammah in Gus Krieger’s world premiere play, Deity Clutch, Boyet in Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Ulysses in Troilus & Cressida.  Regionally, he’s been seen as Student #2 (Juliet) in Joe Calarco’s Shakespeare’s R&J at the Nearly Naked Theatre, Avery in Charlotte’s Web with Childsplay Inc., and  Seth in Phoenix Theatre’s Children of Eden.  Favorite roles include Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Teen Angel in Grease,  King Arthur in Camelot, and Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden.  He has also created, produced and starred in the web series Aimless, which you can find at www.aimlessthewebseries.com

He prays you, remember the Porters!

GUS KRIEGER (Associate Artistic Director, Head of New Works, Resident Artist)

Mr. Krieger has been with the Porters since 2006. Roles with the company include Cassius (Julius Caesar), Antonio (Twelfth Night), Richard III (Richard III), Speed (The Two Gentlemen of Verona), Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing), the Porter (Macbeth, also directed), Don Armado (Love’s Labor’s Lost), Bolingbroke (Richard II), Guildenstern (Hamlet, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead), Dromio of Syracuse (The Comedy of Errors), Shepard (Oedipus the Tyrant), Shylock (The Merchant of Venice), Thersites (Troilus & Cressida), Master Ford (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Lucio (Measure for Measure), and Edgar (King Lear).

Mr. Krieger can also be seen as Prisoner # 1 opposite Nick Cannon in the 2009 Sundance favorite “The Killing Room,” as well as on YouTube in “Bad Inception”, “The Douche Knight”, and “Daniel Day-Lewis Does Porn.”

As playwright/director, Mr. Krieger premiered his new play DEITY CLUTCH with the Porters in 2010.

NICK NEIDORF (Managing Director, Sound & Composition)

Nick Neidorf graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor of the Arts degree in 2007. He’s proud to take on the responsibilities of Managing Director alongside Alex Parker, as well as assuming the role of Resident Stage Manager after a long informal association with the Porters. At the start of 2012, all of his wishes come true: he was properly credited in programs, correctly named by critics, and got to compose an original score for one of the grimmer works in the canon and it was, indeed, awesome. Sound design credits with the Porters include: Hamlet, Rosencrantx & Guildenstern Are Dead, The Comedy of Errors, Oedipus the Tyrant, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus & Cressida, and the Hollywood Fringe Fest ’11 remount of Deity Clutch. Original scores include Troilus & Cressida, and, hopefully, many more to come.

ALEX PARKER (Managing Director, Resident Artist)

Credits with The Porters include: Edmund (King Lear), Troilus (Troilus & Cressida), Antonio (The Merchant of Venice), Tarleton (Deity Clutch),  Chorus (Oedipus the Tyrant), Antipholus of Ephesus (The Comedy of Errors), and Laertes (Hamlet). Los Angeles credits include: Burt/Y. Anton (The Paris Letter, WINNER: Best Supporting Actor, StageSceneLA) and Mark Livingstone (The Poor of New York) at The Group Rep; Lodovico (Othello) at The Actor’s Playpen. Regionally: Malcolm (Macbeth) with WyoShakes; Claudio (Much Ado About Nothing) with Idaho PLAA; a glorified version of himself (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Abridged) with The wts Theatre Co. of Wyoming. Parker produced Collected Stories for The Group Rep, fall 2012.

Pray you, remember The Porters…

MAX ADLER (Resident Artist)

Max has been honored to be involved with this lovely company, The Porters, since 2008, where he got placed into the mix as Leonato, in Much Ado About Nothing. This proved to be a life-changing production to be a part of, as he would get to meet his girlfriend, Jennifer Bronstein, also in the show, as Beatrice. Yes, he played HER Uncle. Good times. Post Much Ado, Max went on to play Malcolm in Macbeth, directed by the wonderful Gus Krieger, and pull double duty in Richard II, as Thomas Mowbray and young Harry Percy, also getting the opportunity to be directed by the one and only Mr. Charles Pasternak. In the summer of 2009, Max booked what would prove to be yet another life changing role, as Dave Karofsky in the FOX series “Glee,” where he can still be seen today. Additional film/tv credits include “Ghost Whisperer,” “Cold Case,” “The Defenders,” “What About Brian,” “Viva Laughlin,” and the upcoming horror film “Wolf Town.” When “Glee” goes on its summer hiatus, Max plans on spending his time off diving into another phenomenal production of classical theater, put on by, who else? Yes, the spectacular Porters of Hellsgate.

JENNIFER BRONSTEIN (Resident Artist)

Jennifer has been a member of The Porters of Hellsgate since the summer of 2008. Previous roles include Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing, Silvia in the Two Gentleman of Verona, The Queen in Richard II, one of the witches in Macbeth, and Isabella in Measure for Measure. Other LA theater credits include: Shari in Neil Labute’s The Distance from Here and Celimenein Moliere’s The Misanthrope. Jennifer earned her degree in Theater from the Meadows School for the Arts at Southern Methodist University. TV credits include roles on NBC’s Chuck and Fox’s The OC. Jennifer can be seen playing the role of Rachel in Columbia Pictures summer comedy 30 Minutes or Less starring Jesse Eisenberg.  She is also a co-founder of the Little Candle Theater Company. She would like to thank The Porters for giving her the chance to play such amazing classical roles and for the introduction to Max Adler (Her Leonato).

MATT CALLOWAY (Resident Artist)

Matt was adopted into Love Labours Lost and hasn’t looked back. Since then he’s portrayed a duke (Comedy of Errors),  a servant (Richard II), the mighty warrior Achilles (Troilus and Cressida) and the wronged nobleman Claudio (Measure for Measure) with The Porters of Hellsgate. Matt is extremely thrilled to have found his Los Angeles family and will continue to work and support the Porter’s ’til death do us part. Other credits in his acting career include the feature horror film Killer Holiday, and many shorts produced by Will McFadden and Gus Krieger. Matt is a Chicago native that has studied in the Steppenwolf theatre, Improv Olypmic West, and Columbia College Theatre Program. Special thanks to Cody Goulder and Daniel Armas for also being a part of his family, and may the arts live forever.

DANA DeRUYCK (Resident Artist)

Dana made her Porters’ debut as Mekkhala in the 2010 premiere of Gus Krieger’s Deity Clutch, reprising the role for the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival. She also appeared in King Lear (Regan), Measure for Measure (Mistress Overdone), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Ford), Troilus & Cressida (Andromache), Oedipus the Tyrant (Chorus) and The Comedy of Errors (Second Merchant). Other LA theatre Credits: Sybil in Forever (Magnum Opus Players), Dorothy Kilgallen (u/s) in The Magic Bullet Theory (Sacred Fools Theatre, Matrix Theatre), Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet (Knightsbridge Theatre), Van’s Sister in Dog Sees God (Urban Theatre Movement), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (California Shakespeare Company), and sketch comedy with Dynamite Kablammo. Additionally, she can be seen in a smattering of short films, including the comedy/action short Perv: The Cat and parody webseries Harry Potter and the Ten Years Later. Remember the Porters, will ya?

SEAN FAYE (Resident Artist)

Sean first appeared with The Porters in The Merchant of Venice, and it has been many journeys up and down a rickety staircase ever since.  Other Porters’ performances include King Lear, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Troilus & Cressida.  Sean is downright delirious to be a member of the company. Other LA theatre credits include Pumpkin Pie/Lance (u/s) in Pulp Shakespeare (Her Majesty’s Secret Players), Garson in Quick & In My Arms (Fresh Baked Theatre), and Count Charisma in The Girl Who Would Be King (Absolut Theatre). Before moving to LA, Sean worked steadily with many theater companies in Philadelphia, his favorite roles being Crumpet in The Santaland Diaries and the Vice President in The Apollo of Bellac.  Check out Time Again, newly released on amazon.com, where Sean is a shiftless accountant for the mob.

Pray you, remember the Porters…

TAYLOR FISHER (Resident Artist)

Taylor has been seen in 13 Porters productions so far, and stepped behind the scenes for the first time by serving as choreographer for Oedipus the Tyrant.  Some of her previous roles include Ophelia in Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Luciana in The Comedy of Errors, The Duchess of York in Richard II, Rosalind in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, and Perkunas in the world premiere of company member Gus Krieger’s Deity Clutch.  Porters aside, she has been seen as The Sugar Plum Fairy in Topanga’s The Nutcracker, as well as flitting joyfully from one aisle to the next at her local super market.  Taylor is currently attending UCLA, and teaches dance to cutest kids you’ve ever seen.

She prays you, remember the Porters…

DR. JAMEY HECHT (Resident Artist)

A writer by trade, his four books to date include an elegy for President Kennedy called Limousine, Midnight Blue: Fifty Frames From the Zapruder Film (Red Hen Press, 2009) and a translation of Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays (Wordsworth Classics, 2004). Jamey wishes to thank his wife Sava and daughter Ellie for all their love and support;  Joanne Q. Baines of Covina’s Pondwater Society, for all her help.  www.jameyhecht.com. For snappy insights on a world gone mad, see:  http://poetrypoliticscollapse.blogspot.com.

KATE O’TOOLE (Resident Artist)

Kate first became involved with the Porters when she was cast as Ashie in Gus Krieger’s original play, Deity Clutch. Since then, she has appeared in The Comedy of Errors, Oedipus the Tyrant, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus & Cressida, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Measure for Measure, and King Lear. It was after Oedipus that Kate received the invitation to become a Resident Artist, which she gratefully accepted. In Los Angeles, she has also performed with companies including The Group Rep and California Shakespeare Company. Prior to living in California, she worked at theatres all over the United States, including The Hampstead Players, The Utah Shakespearean Festival, and The Free Associates Improv Group. Favorite roles include Lainie in Two Rooms, Cinderella in Into The Woods, and Rachel in Reckless. She prays you, remember the Porters.

LIZA de WEERD (Resident Artist)

Liza is thrilled to be a company member, having played Portia in The Merchant of Venice (StageSceneLA: Best Actress) and Adriana in The Comedy of Errors.Liza was most recently seen at the Pasadena Playhouse in Aunt Stossie’s Coming For Five Days (as part of their Hothouse reading series), as well as playing Helen in Ladyhouse Blues with The Andak Stage Company. Other stage work includes Lisa in Collected Stories, Susy in Wait Until Dark, and Thelma in The Trip to Bountiful, at The Group Rep; Yolanda/Jody in the New York and Los Angeles Premieres of Pulp Shakespeare (Cherry Lane, SoHo Playhouse, and Theatre Asylum); Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, at Kentucky Shakespeare; Janetta in the World Premiere of The Boomerang Effect, and Barbara Walters in the World Premiere of Hunger: In Bed With Roy Cohn, both at the Odyssey; and Lusia in A Shayna Maidel, at ICT. She has been seen on television in a recurring role on Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures as well as Grey’s Anatomy, Lie to Me, Monk, and Big Love. Her film work includes Night Eyes, Salvation Road, and Paul Verhoeven’s Zwartboek (Black Book). She is looking forward to playing Lady M this summer with The Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Pray you, remember The Porters…