As a sequel to the 2006 Hollywood Dreams, writer-director Henry Jaglom‘s seriocomedy Queen of the Lot resumes the chronicle of Maggie Chase, née Margie Chizek (Tanna Frederick). At the outset, aspiring actress Maggie lies in bed with her aunt Bee (Melissa Leo) and watches George Cukor‘s The Women on television, reflecting candidly that she longs to attain the status once held by Norma Shearer — “Queen of the Lot.” The narrative then leaps forward in time three years, to a point when Maggie has fulfilled her dreams of A-list stature, with lead roles in glossy action pictures. But accompanying the fame are salacious developments ripe for tabloid fodder: a DUI charge, a court-ordered ankle bracelet, and temporary house arrest for Maggie. Over the trajectory of the story, Maggie obtains permission from the cops to relocate to the home of her agent and his partner (Zack Norman and David Proval), after which she follows actor boyfriend Dov Lambert (Christopher Rydell) to the estate owned by his legendary Hollywood parents (Jack Heller and Kathryn Grant). At that house, Maggie also crosses paths with Dov’s brother, novelist-turned-screenwriter Aaron Lambert (Noah Wyle of ER), little realizing that this stranger may soon change her life.

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In 2003, during an interview with a potential manager—a reputable gentleman with a prominent office in Beverly Hills—he asked me to take my shirt off. When I reacted by sitting there in wide-eyed silence, he said, “Look at that—you hesitated! See, that tells me something right there…

find out what it told him

Alan MacVey, director of UI’s theatre arts department and one of Frederick’s former professors, is thrilled to have Frederick visit campus.

“She is … the perfect example of a student who finishes her undergraduate degree and is dedicated and determined to find a place for herself as a professional actress, has a rough time, but through pluck and patience and ingenuity and hard work, got a break,” he said. “She’s proven to be a very special actress.

“She’ll be very instructive and inspiring for our students,” he said.

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Alan MacVey, the director of the University of Iowa theater department, says that while the number of factors involved makes it impossible to tell who’s going to make it in Hollywood, Frederick showed promise during her time in Iowa City.

“Success is the result of a lot of things: patience, talent, hard work, luck,” he said. “What I could tell was that she had great potential. She had a very positive, infectious personality.”

Hearing about Frederick’s success is encouraging for such students as Amelia Peacock, who performed last fall in the tragedy Freezer Dreams. The freshman was the recipient of a scholarship set up by Frederick for Iowa students looking to break into the entertainment business.

The Tanna Frederick Scholarship supports an incoming Theatre Arts major who shows artistic potential in one or more areas of theatre, as well as academic and artistic achievement. This year’s recipient is Amelia Peacock who said, “It’s definitely encouraging and a testament to how great the Iowa program is, that someone from Iowa City can make it in Hollywood,” Peacock said. “It’s definitely something to look up to.”

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Tanna Frederick returns to the theater starring in the title role of “Sylvia”  at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica opening May 20 2011.

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Tanna Frederick, star of Just 45 Minutes from Broadway, questions her most romantic thing she has ever seen. “There’s a retirement home near my place in Santa Monica, and there’s this adorable couple who must be in their late eighties, and I always seen them walking several times along our little ocean walkway with matching outfits on holding hands.  That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen…Of course, maybe they’re both married to other people in the retirement home and are having some crazy secret affair, but it’s still romantic.   I mean, matching golf caps, sweaters, slacks and tennis shoes?  The sweetest thing ever.”

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Tanna Frederick, a University of Iowa theater arts graduate and Hollywood actress, is coming to UI for a screening of her newest film, “Queen of the Lot,” followed by a Q&A at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Bijou Theater.

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