Will Block, Artistic Director
For the Porters: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Posthumus in Cymbeline, Ferdinand in The Tempest, Lysimachus et al in Pericles.
Directed All’s Well that Ends Well, All is True or Henry VIII, The Two Noble Kinsmen
Will Block first joined the company with 2017's Pericles and fell in love with the Porters' unique blend of discipline, camaraderie and scrappiness. In 2022, he was named the Porter’s second Artistic Director, succeeding Founding AD Charles Pasternak.
In his first season for the company, he directed Shakespeare and Fletcher’s late history All is True, or Henry VIII. The production was critically lauded and took home the StageRaw award for Best Direction and Ensemble.
He was previously the founding Artistic Director of Method and Madness, for whom he appeared as the title character in Richard II and directed productions of Henry IV and Macbeth.
Regional acting credits include roles with Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Sacramento Theatre Company, A Noise Within, La Mirada Theatre, and the Kingsman Shakespeare Co. TV credits include two whole words on the Season 6 premiere of This is Us.
As a director and producer, Will is deeply committed to creating vibrant, lucid productions that interrogate and illuminate classic texts. He is deeply honored to be given the opportunity to do so through the Porters, who have always been exemplary in their pursuit of and dedication to excellent work. He looks forward to expanding the company's outreach and creating new education initiatives while honoring and deepening the company's commitment to nurturing artists.