Welcome to Podular
Podular is a non-profit incubator in Port Townsend, Jefferson County, WA with a mission to help people and groups get their ideas off the ground.
Each Pod under our umbrella must adhere to our basic by-laws & policies, but is completely self-managed. Our leadership guides, oversees, and ensures best practices are being followed, while our Pods commit to focus a minimum of 25% of their resources for the betterment of youth – whatever that may look like.
We can assist our Pods with public relations, bookkeeping, accepting donations, board formation, incorporation help, insurance & graphic design assistance and more OR we can simply be the vehicle you use to launch your first project.
Do you have an idea you need help gaining steam? Curious how this works?
Danny & Tobi McEnerney
[email protected]
[email protected]
Our Pods
“Port Townsend Youth Theater Company”
HISTORY OF FORMATION
During the pandemic I (Danny McEnerney) was working at Port Townsend’s Key City Public Theatre as the General Manager. As the father of a then 8yo, I saw how much kids needed connection with others and to get outside of the video screen doldrums that COVID brought families. Fortunately, at the time, I worked for an organization that was rearing to help.
We began KCPT’s first “new style” theater camp in 2020 outside, masked, at Salish Coast Elementary. The new style camp was not actually a new style, just new for our community in recent years. The idea was to mimic what a youth dance school might do, having regular classes all year long, nearly every week, and for varying abilities and all ages.
The KCPT teaching staff and Artistic Director, along with myself, worked hard to grow the program into a resounding success. Funds were made available by generous donors so no kid was turned away due to finances, and kids got introduced to theater and made connections.
Fast forward to 2023. After years of non-profit work, and years of KCPT’s classes, our son was cast in Port Gamble Theatre’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” My wife Tobi and myself witnessed a group of kids, mostly strangers, become a close-knit family under the direction of the theatre’s Artistic Director. The show itself sold out every performance of a 3-week run during Christmastime.
Our family was hungry to repeat a theater experience that included several months of rehearsals and culminated in a set of public performances because we saw the power contained in that process. While widely available in Kitsap County, hours of commuting several times a week is a huge burden on a family.
In January of 2024 our whole family got involved with OCEAN’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” My wife Tobi as Stage Manager, son Argus in the role of Nick Bottom, and myself as Producer. We worked under the direction of Marc Weinblatt, a well-known professional theater artist and founder of The Mandala Center for Change. Tobi and I both knew we wanted to produce a show for our local kids, and after the “Midsummer” experience, we knew our future would involve giving our youth this opportunity.
The missing piece to the puzzle in East Jefferson County is the long-term commitment of a theater troupe, or team, working towards a common goal – a public performance – similar to a dance school recital – that is open to the general public and all ages.
Currently youth theater participation is available by select local school groups such as OCEAN, OPEPO, OPHC and others, with one option available for teens. This means that the average kid of average or lower than average ability, going to regular public school, while able to attend local theater classes, does not have the opportunity to participate in an intensive theater program culminating in performances – and this crucial commitment is where change and growth happens for these kids.
The Port Townsend Youth Theater Company produced 2024’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for the Port Townsend School District’s OCEAN K-12 program, and in 2025 will be producing an epic rendition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” also for the OCEAN program. If you are interested in working with us, please get in-touch!