Shakespeare Troupe Gets Its Own Theater

After two years of traffic on borrowed stages, the Pasadena Shakespeare Company finally has its own digs.

Thespians are traipsing up and down Los Robles Avenue this week, moving their things into a new Plaza Pasadena theater that they will call home for at least a year, said Gillian Bagwell, founder and artistic director of the professional theater company.

The troupe, originally called the Castle Green Shakespeare Company, performed to a 45-seat house on Raymond Avenue that it borrowed for a few performances earlier this year.

The new theater, a 3,500-square-foot unit that had been converted from a bookstore, is half the size of the Raymond Avenue location. But because of differences in fire safety codes, the company will maintain the same size stage while doubling its seating.

The 2-year-old troupe has roamed from bookstore to bookstore, giving dramatic readings of Shakespeare plays. They still plan on making bookstore appearances, Bagwell said.