Goldfinch Productions goes on with the show, announcing 2021 season

At a time when many theaters companies are in limbo, South Sound‘s tiny Goldfinch Productions has announced its 2021 season.

With six productions planned from February to December, the season is the biggest yet for the 2-year-old nonprofit. And it will happen regardless of when live theater returns.

Goldfinch, which produced two audio plays in the fall, will continue its focus on radio productions and podcasts on its Goldfinch Podcast Network, with plans to add live performances when possible, perhaps with a Shakespeare in the Park production of “Othello,” set for August.

“We decided to go online,” Goldfinch artistic director Kevin McManus told The Olympian. “We figured if we are going to exist, we might as well continue to press and push and figure out ways of creating art even in the hardest of times.”

This is a particularly difficult time for actors and other creative types, he said. The company announced its season Dec. 19 and immediately began receiving emails from actors interested in participating in the productions, which will begin Feb. 28 with a radio broadcast of “Rachel,” an early 20th century drama about the experience of being Black in the United States.

“By making this announcement when we did, we’re growing in size,” said McManus of Seattle, who started Goldfinch while living in Olympia. “People are so desperate to do some work.

“I know that I’m going stir crazy,” he added.

Right now, there’s a big advantage to being a new and small company, he said: With no rent or utilities to pay and no paid staff, Goldfinch has been able to focus on creating rather than on making ends meet.

And all of the plays in the season, like Goldfinch’s earlier productions, are a century old and in the public domain, meaning that there are no royalties to pay and no restrictions on editing and adapting the work for audio.

McManus’ goal is to find a home for Goldfinch in Lacey, which has no theater company, and in early 2020, he and the Goldfinch board were close to committing to a space.

“We are very fortunate,” he said. “I’m certainly glad I’m running this company right now and not one with a theater and a paid staff.”

“We at Goldfinch Productions are facing the challenges ahead by leaning in,” he wrote in an email announcing the season. “While we aren’t the richest or oldest company in the community, we are full of passion and energy.”

Andrea Weston-Smart, who acted in the company’s first show, 2019’s “As You Like It,” is directing “Rachel.” She is well known to South Sound theatergoers for her work with Olympia Little Theatre, where she’s on the board, and Olympia Family Theater, but “Rachel” will be her directorial debut.

“Goldfinch is willing to take risks,” Weston-Smart said. “Kevin’s not afraid to try things out. I think that’s cool.

“I was surprised Kevin asked me to direct,” she told The Olympian. “And ‘Rachel’ was a surprise, too. It’s a play I’d never heard about.”

Goldfinch Productions 2021 season

Whether or not live theater returns this year, the South Sound nonprofit theater company is going on with the shows. Admission will be free, with donations encouraged. For more information, go to https://www.goldfinchproductions.com/

THE LINEUP

• “Rachel,” by Angelina Weld Grimké: The 1916 drama was one of the first American plays written by a Black author about the Black experience. Premiering at 3 p.m. Feb. 28 on 95.3 KGY FM and http://www.kgyfm.com/ and available afterward at https://anchor.fm/gpn.
• “Saint Joan,” by George Bernard Shaw: Shaw’s best known play tells the story of the 15th-century teenage heroine Joan of Arc. April 25, https://anchor.fm/gpn
• “Trifles,” by Susan Glaspell: The 1916 one-act play about a horrific murder is an intense mystery play with strong feminist themes. June 27, https://anchor.fm/gpn
• “Othello,” by William Shakespeare: The tragedy about desire, envy and racism is planned as Goldfinch’s second Shakespeare in the Park production. August, in parks if possible and online at https://anchor.fm/gpn
• “Outward Bound,” by Sutton Vane: An ocean liner embarks on a mysterious — and spooky — voyage in this 1923 comic drama. Premiering at 3 p.m. Oct. 24 on 95.3 KGY FM and http://www.kgyfm.com/ and available afterward at https://anchor.fm/gpn
• “The Goblins’ Christmas,” an improvised production based on the book by Elizabeth Anderson: Mischievous goblins, along with witches and spiders, figure prominently in Anderson’s 1908 volume of short stories and poetry. Dec. 19, performed live if possible and online at https://anchor.fm/gpn.

This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 5:45 AM.