Aw, Hell

Woodstock

When

June 26–July 12, 2025

Days Vary, Times vary

Cost: $25 - $45

Where

Reed College

3203 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR 97202

The following description was submitted by the event organizer.

Demons on their lunch break, Virgil as a shady tour guide, a tenants' association meeting as torture, food and sex combined in unholy ways, and confusion about which door leads to the blood pool. Join PETE as in failing the classical literature test, defiling the sacred, and joyfully abandoning hope.

Using Dante’s Inferno as a catalyst, abandon hope and enter the messy, disgusting, offensive truth of the human condition. Aw, Hell is a journey down the drain, acting regrettably, breaking vows, lying to ourselves and ending up boiling in a river of blood. 

Aw, Hell features performances from PETE members Rebecca Lingafelter, Cristi Miles, Damaris Webb, Roo Welsh, and Amber Whitehall in collaboration with guest performer and renowned clown Emily Newton. Aw, Hell features original text by PETE company member Chris Gonzalez and is directed by founding member Jacob Coleman, in collaboration with clown dramaturg Sascha Blocker.

PETE’s iconoclastic designers and company members will be creating an immersive version of hell, integrating design with performance in a way that only designers who have been collaborating for more than a decade can. Peter Ksander is designing the set, Miranda K. Hardy is designing lights, Jenny Ampersand will design costumes, Mark Valadez will design sound, Trevor Sargent is creating video and special systems, and Maggie Heath will design props.

Grotesque amorality, operatic annoyances, and peeved pagans