Tanna Frederick
EXPLAINS WHY WE HAVE A BODY by david vera
hoever said, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” was probably busy trying to keep up with Tanna Frederick. Following her recent successful run in Sylvia, the multitalented supergirl contin-
ues to inspire on all fronts with her unstoppable drive, focused vi- sion and her endearing modesty. Accomplished athlete, thespian, philanthropist and valedictorian of her graduating liberal arts class at the University of Iowa, Frederick now tries the director’s chair for size—all while masterfully squeezing into the lead role as well!
The project: Claire Chafee’s Why We Have A Body
(WWHAB)—an unorthodox comedy centered on Lili, a private eye specializing in divorce, particularly in the allegorical castration of adulterous husbands. In a poetic twist, Lili finds herself developing erotic feelings for a married woman…and acting on them! Her “partner” in crime is the normally heterosexual Renee. Lili’s gun-wielding sister, Mary, compulsively robs 7-11 stores but is rethinking this habit in hopes of establishing a non-criminal life. Not so easy when the sisters’ only nearby parent, Eleanor, is on a never- ending search studying foreign cultures and is hardly ever emotionally present. Love of all types is the focal point of this show. And
Frederick describes her take on Chafee’s play as a whimsical encounter between Alice in Wonderland and the world of Baron Munchausen. “I originally did this piece in college in 1996,”
revealed Frederick. I’ve been on stage since I was 8, but for some reason this particular piece just stuck with me. I’d never directed before, and all of a sudden I said ‘It’s time to do WWHAB and I’m going to take a plunge and direct it!’” Having been the lead in five Henry Jaglom films
and taken the stage in six of Gary Imhoff’s plays, Frederick has certainly had the opportunity to learn from the best. LGBT audiences will identify well with how close-to-home the theme of forbidden love hits the central performer. “This play has been in the back of my unconscious
mind since 1996, so I have a clear vision of what I want to do with it,” said Frederick. “It’s a necessary thing for me. This show is dedicated to my uncles. They’ve been married twice because the government declared their marriage not valid. Watching them go through that has been amazing because of their fortitude and what they taught me about bravery and love. It’s hard enough to be in a relationship without having to go through all the stupid legalities of getting married twice! With all the things going on surrounding Prop. 8—which is one of the dark- est things that exists on this planet—this is a very
20 RAGE monthly | MARCH 2012
timely piece to put out there. We are so lucky to fall in love, however the hell it happens, to whomever the hell it happens. The fact that it happens at all is a miracle, and this play really demonstrates what a rare and beautiful thing it is. If you find that person who fulfils your life, nobody is allowed to take that away from you.” The plot of WWHAB sounds
hilarious, but it also carries much potential for a lot of heart-string-tugging. “I’ve had three people whom
I trust come see it. They were enchanted by it, which I didn’t expect because it was still kind of messy at the time. But the thing that I love is that three nights later, they were saying, ‘I can’t get this thing out of my head! The scenes keep playing themselves over and over!’ When you find something that sticks with you, it’s amazing. That’s what Claire Chafee has created here. When you read it, the whole thing is like a giant, beautiful poem.” All audiences will appreciate rich themes accom- panied by equally rich sounds of live music. “We have five live musicians. Edward Auslender
created this whole original score for us. Each of the women has her own theme song—they are so gor- geous. And these guys are so cute and incredibly talented. They’re on stage playing the whole time with us. My character (the crazy one of the bunch) interacts with them because they’re in her mind. I think they’re her voices. If people don’t like the show, at least they can love this live music because it’s undoubtedly great.” True to her project’s title, Frederick demonstrated
the tremendous impact that individuals can make by actually using their bodies. The Midwest-born
transplant started a nonprofit organization five years ago called Save Our Surf. It is geared toward cleaning up the California coastline and branches off into projects like creating clean fresh water wells for less-fortunate areas and for the enjoyment and education of children at summer camp. “I was pretty stoked to have two of the world’s top champion surfers, PT Townend and Shaun Tomson, to cohost events with me,” admitted Frederick. “So far we’ve raised more than $250,000 for different clean water initiative projects and to send kids to camp and experience the outdoors first-hand rather than simply learning from their textbooks.” Is there anything this woman can’t do? The answer
is yes. She can’t brag. Resolute humility is yet another admirable quality that one can look forward to upon meeting Tanna Frederick.
Come see Tanna in action at Santa Monica’s Edgemar Center for the Arts. WWHAB opens Friday, March 2. Show Times: Thurs- day through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets: visit
edgemarcenter.org or call 310.399.3666.
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