Eugene's 'Nanna's Cottage' cozies up to national TV.

Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

A new children's show created in Eugene will start production in two months and hopes to land on public television next summer.

"Nanna's Cottage" will have a cast and crew of 127 and an annual budget of almost $2 million. It will be filmed at the Chambers Media Center, which has joined Eugene-based Polara Productions as an equal partner in the show.

Boston-based American Public Television, which provides programming for public television stations, is considering distributing "Nanna's Cottage" starting next summer, a spokeswoman said.

Davey Porter, creator and executive producer of the show, conceived it about 20 months ago and is amazed by how rapidly it's moving to reality.

"If I could have scripted it, it's exceeded my expectations," he said.

Polara made the pilot episode at the Chambers studios in north Eugene in September and October. Porter said that APT took an interest in the show earlier this month at its fall marketplace, where new shows are presented to Public Broadcasting System affiliate stations.

The next step is to hire more cast members and writers, Porter said. Casting sessions will be held in December and January for six child and three adult roles, he said.

Production will begin Feb. 1 on 55 half-hour episodes planned next year, he said. The first few shows will be completed in May.

Porter said he is hopeful that the show will be offered for the coveted Saturday morning time slot, which would attract the largest audience.

If that happens, the show could be seen by millions of viewers in 350 TV markets nationwide, he said.

"When it's out there, that's when everyone crosses their fingers and holds their breath and asks 'What will this little engine that could do for us?' " he said.

The series, aimed at children ages 4 to 9, is set in Cottage Hamlet and centers on Abigale "Nanna" Macaroon, a world traveler who dispenses love and knowledge to her grandchildren and their friends. The characters interact with puppets, animation and an affectionate English sheepdog named Arbuckle.

Segments mix fun and learning, from geography lessons to the importance of good manners to singalongs.

Porter said he and three other directors each will work on episodes simultaneously with different groups of children. Each episode will be built from several standalone segments, much like "Sesame Street" shows are put together. The children will work no more than four hours a day.

The show should help lure other productions to the area, said Debbie Williamson-Smith, tourism and public relations manager for the Convention & Visitors Association of Lane County.

"Having a full production here strengthens our crew base and our talent base," Williamson-Smith said. "It's definitely going to have a huge impact."

Film and television production work is poised to really take off in the Eugene area, said Thaddeus Moore, production chairman for the Mid Oregon Production Arts Network, a nonprofit association of people working in film, television, video, audio and multimedia production.

"I see (the show) as the first of many things to come," Moore said. "I imagine more and more things will be coming through here like this. I've gotten a lot of good feedback about what's happening in Eugene. I can't wait to see it happen."

"Nanna's Cottage" will take over a 14,500-square-foot sound stage at Chambers, which also produces "Smart Gardening," a nationally syndicated show for public television. The company produced two previous syndicated series, "We the Jury" and "State Police."

Like "Smart Gardening," "Nanna's Cottage" will be produced in high-definition format, a high-resolution picture quality available for HDTV systems.

"To have two active TV shows in production shot in high definition is a very strong position for us as a production facility," said Dana Siebert, executive vice president of Chambers Productions.

He said the company is fortunate to be able to work with Porter, who worked as a writer on the hit TV series "Picket Fences" and "Third Rock From the Sun."

"To have a person of this caliber working at the media center on a regular basis in a production mode is a very significant accomplishment as well," Siebert said.

Casting and other information can be found at www.polaraproductions.com.