“He can be very explosive, and he’s capable of being profoundly tender – I need both for this Hamlet.”

Director Marc Weinblatt is speaking about Dillon Porter, who plays titular role in Key City Public Theatre’s production of ‘Hamlet,’ which opens Aug. 3 at Chetzemoka Park.

Playing the prince of Denmark is no small feat, and Porter said embodying that role has affected him deeply  – more than he could have anticipated. 

“This is the most extreme production I’ve ever been a part of, personally,” he said. “And I think that is because I care. I care a great deal about words, and believe wholeheartedly in their power.”

Porter, who has been acting in town for over a year now, has worked in large cities like Chicago and New York, where he said there are hundreds of thousands from which to draw inspiration.

“This area has fewer people to draw from, and yet the quality of art here in Port Townsend is phenomenal. The cast (of ‘Hamlet’) is phenomenal … they’re so capable and so brave, that without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing,” he said. “(When) this hard work gets shared with the community at large, then the risk, and vulnerability … will have found its purpose.”

Key City Public Theatre’s Viking and Norse mythology–inspired production of "Hamlet" opens Aug. 3 at Chetzemoka Park. By donation performances are 6 p.m., Fridays-Sundays, through Aug. 26.