member profile Penguin Point Productions Creativity and vintage keep business flowing at Florida shop By Ed Avis Sometimes a business does better when it does more than just one thing. That’s certainly the case with Penguin Point Productions in Oviedo, Florida, which has developed a combination of related businesses over the past 15 years. Today the operation encompasses a costume shop, theater classes, a theater venue with four companies in residence, a summer camp program, and, since May 15, a vintage shop. “We now have five stores back-to-back in the Oviedo Mall,” explains Kay Gonzales, who manages the costume part of the business. “There is a lot going on, and we are bursting forth with job opportunities.” A Teacher’s Costume Collection James Brendlinger, Penguin Point’s owner, taught high school theater in the area for 24 years and operated a costumesharing program that outfitted community theaters throughout central Florida. He started Penguin Point Productions in 2005 as a theater education program, and he frequently shopped at Madge Elaine’s World of Entertainment, a costume shop owned by Gonzales. “He was my best customer, and when we closed in 2010, James bought about two-thirds of my rental costume stock,” Gonzales says. That stock became part of Brendlinger’s vast costume collection, which also grew with donations from theme parks, theaters and other businesses. When he left his high school teaching post in 2018, the principal of his school told him to leave just a “normal high school-size collection,” so most of the costumes ended up in his possession. He realized they could form the heart of a costume business. “He called me out of the blue in January 2019 and said, ‘Hey, I’m opening a costume shop, come join me,’” Gonzales says. “I told him I had a corporate job with insurance, and I didn’t know if I wanted to get back into the costume industry that had changed so much.” june/july 2021
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But Gonzales’ corporate job was becoming uncertain because the business was moving her division to Wisconsin. The moment they offered her a severance package, she called Brendlinger and told him she would join him in his new costume venture. At first, she volunteered. Then, in January 2020, she became the full-time manager of the costume business, which was part of Penguin Point Productions’ space in Oviedo Mall. At that time, the business occupied three side-by-side stores at the mall – one for the theater, one for a dance studio/classroom, and one for administration and the costumes. It’s Show Time! An essential part of Penguin Point are the four companies in residence. They include the Young Company, which is older high school and younger college students; the Wildfire Players, which does slightly edgier shows; the Ensemble Company, which is community theater; and the Still Got It Players, for over-50 performers. All of the companies receive their costumes from Penguin Point’s collection, and the costume shop also supplies local schools and community theaters. Business was picking up in early 2020 when COVID hit. “We were closed for two months, and then we reopened with all the precautions for our summer camps,” Gonzales says. “Everyone had to wear masks and be socially distanced, and we had to regularly spray everything down. But the kids were so happy, and we’ve been fortunate not to have any breakouts.” About 300 children attended the camps, which ranged from one week for kids in Kindergarten through second grade to three weeks for middle schoolers. Each group produced a show at the end of their camp. “We did some wonderful shows at the summer camps – The Secret Garden, Charlie Brown, and James and the Giant Peach,” Gonzales says. “I designed the costumes for Charlie Brown, and we’ve rented it six or seven times since then.” In addition to the costume needs of its in-house productions, Penguin Point’s costume shop also provided the costumes for various community productions, including the 166 costumes needed for a production of Spamalot at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford, Florida.
