Powderhouse Productions

Last updated
Powderhouse Productions
Typeproduction company
Industrytelevision
Founded1994
Headquarters
Website www.powderhouse.net

Powderhouse Productions is an American television production company established in 1994. [1]

Contents

Origins

As early as 1986, Powderhouse co-founders Joel Olicker and Tug Yourgrau met while working to produce a documentary for WGBH, the public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts. [2] The collaboration on this documentary for WGBH led them to conceive their own independent production company that would focus on their own brand of nonfiction television programming. In 1994, Olicker and Yourgrau officially began work under the Powderhouse moniker. Powderhouse's first office facilities were located in the basement of a Dunkin' Donuts restaurant location in Powder House Square, Somerville, Massachusetts.

Meaning of the name

The name "Powderhouse" is derived from a conflict during the American Revolution over gunpowder stored in the Provincial Powder House (still standing in Powder House Square near Tufts University in Somerville). [3] The province and its towns were to share the powder, but the towns had removed their allotments. When William Brattle, a Cambridge loyalist, so informed the British commander, General Thomas Gage, the British became concerned that patriot elements might seize the provincial powder as well. On September 1, 1774, British soldiers removed 250 half barrels of powder from the Powder House. One detachment marched to Cambridge and carried off two small cannons.

The founders

Joel Olicker

A native New Yorker, he began his career at Valkhn Films, where he cut segments for the classic CBS children's series Captain Kangaroo . After a two-year teaching stint at Hampshire College, he was employed at WGBH, eventually editing and/or producing for the national series Nova , Frontline , The American Experience and others. At Powderhouse, he helped launch the Emmy-winning Discovery Channel series, Discover Magazine . He has produced and directed award-winning specials such as Engineering The Impossible, the Emmy-nominated series Extreme Engineering and numerous hours for the WGBH Science Unit and the Discovery Channel.

Tug Yourgrau

Tug Yourgrau is both an award-winning filmmaker and a Tony-nominated playwright. [4] He currently serves as Executive Producer of the Raising Cain Project for PBS [5] and as Co-Executive Producer of Extreme Engineering for The Discovery Channel. [6] Most recently, Tourgrau completed The Great Pink Scare funded by ITVS. [7] In 2001, Tug produced, directed and wrote Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies for PBS's Nova . [8] His play The Song of Jacob Zulu, [9] ran on Broadway in 1993 and led to six Tony nominations.

Programs and series produced by Powderhouse Productions

Name:Aired On:
Southie Rules A&E
Dogs 101Animal Planet
Cats 101 Animal Planet
Build It Bigger (14 episodes)Discovery
Sliced History
SuperfetchAnimal Planet
Dogs Vs CatsAnimal Planet
A Girl's LifePBS
America's Cutest DogAnimal Planet
Kids By The Dozen (3 episodes) TLC
Mysteries of the Freemasons History
Inside SupermaxTLC
Extreme Engineering - Season 3 (6 episodes)Discovery
Raising Cain with Michael ThompsonPBS
MegaStructures: Ultimate Oil Rigs National Geographic Channel
MegaStructures: Berlin Train TerminalNational Geographic Channel
MegaStructures: World's Biggest AirlinerNational Geographic Channel
MegaStructures: Black GoldNational Geographic Channel
The Great Pink ScarePBS
Extreme Engineering - Season 2 (10 episodes)Discovery
Invent This! (13 episodes) Tech TV
Engineering Supermax PrisonsTLC
World in Balance - China Revs UpNova/PBS
Extreme Engineering - Season 1 (10 episodes)Discovery
Engineering the ImpossibleDiscovery
The Power of Friendship with Michael Thompson OPB
Secrets, Lies, and Atomic SpiesNova/PBS
Great Transformations - EvolutionNova/PBS
The Killer's TrailNova/PBS
Mummies - The Real StoryDiscovery Channel
Inside the US MintDiscovery
Inside the World's Mightiest BankDiscovery

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References

  1. "Powderhouse Productions explodes on to the scene". Massachusetts Film Office. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  2. "Powderhouse Productions: Small Company, Big Success". NewEnglandFilm.com. 1998-01-01. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  3. "Boris FX | Powderhouse Productions Anchors Itself to BCC AVX". borisfx.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  4. "Tug Yourgrau Tony Awards Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  5. Sacco, Jessica. "Melrose man makes documentary magic". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  6. "Extreme Engineering". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  7. "The Great Pink Scare | ITVS". itvs.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  8. "NOVA Online | Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies | Family of Spies". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  9. "The Song of Jacob Zulu". www.steppenwolf.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.