"Come On Over!," the children's television program filmed at Hope College, has won six Emmy Awards from The Michigan Chapter of The National Television Academy.
"Come On Over!," the children's television program filmed at Hope College, has won six Emmy Awards from The Michigan Chapter of The National Television Academy.
The awards were presented on Saturday, June 16, at the Gem Theatre in Detroit.
"Come On Over!" is the brainchild of Joel Schoon Tanis, who is an artist and 1989 Hope graduate living in Holland, and the creation of Enthusiastic Productions LLC, a venture between Schoon Tanis and the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. The program features Schoon Tanis as a stay-at-home artist with a great imagination, and is set primarily in his backyard and studio - both of which were built in the studio of the college's Martha Miller Center for Global Communication.
The first eight episodes were filmed at Hope between May and August of 2006, with additional episodes filmed during December and January. Several members of the Hope family have been involved in the production, including not only Schoon Tanis but also other alumni as well as students, members of the faculty and staff, and cast and crew of Hope Summer Repertory Theatre.
The six Emmys that "Come On Over!" received are:
"Musical Composition/Arrangement," Chad Dykema '90, song-writer and performer, and Paul Chamness '90, song-writer and performer, and music engineer;
"Graphic Arts-Animation," Keith Himebaugh '96, animator;
"Graphic Arts-Art Direction," John A.C. Despres;
"Graphic Arts-Set Design," Bob Phillips;
"Lighting-Studio," Keith Oberfeld, with Erik Alberg '90, assistant lighting director and key gaffer;
"On-Camera Talent-Performer/Narrator," Joel Schoon Tanis '89.
Alberg is manager of the Knickerbocker Theatre and technical director for the performing arts at Hope, and Chamness is director of the campus ministries technical staff at the college.
"Come On Over!" debuted in October 2006 on the Battle Creek ABC affiliate WOTV 4, and airs every Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. Additional episodes will be filmed at Hope in July and August.
Additional information about "Come On Over!" may be obtained online at www.comeonover.com and www.grcm.org. In addition, the program was highlighted on page five of the December 2006 issue of "News from Hope College," available online at www.hope.edu/pr/nfhc/archive/pdf/nfhc1206.pdf.