Critically acclaimed actress Tanna Frederick, who is a Mason City native and the Founder of Project Cornlight (www.ProjectCornlight.org), adds another accolade to her resume this weekend as she is honored at the inaugural Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (ww.JulienFilmFest.com). Frederick will receive the 2012 CineCause Award at the CineCause Gala on Friday, April 20, at the
historic Hotel Julien in downtown Dubuque. Presenting the award is CineCause CEO Jon Fitzgerald.
CineCause is a filter to quality film programming, connecting news, celebrities and socially relevant films
with related causes (www.CineCause.com).

read the press release

Tanna Frederick is a 32 year old actress from Iowa who is currently residing in Southern California. You may recognize her as Maggie Chase from the film Queen of the Lot in which she won best actress at WorldFest-Houston in 2011. Tanna’s greatest accomplishment is that she has become a “stage and independent film actress who rose to prominence for her title role in Henry Jaglom’s film Hollywood Dreams for which she received the Best Actress Award at the 2008 Fargo Film Festival.” But it won’t stop there. This beautiful and energetic young actress has a promising future ahead of her. For those of you that will be hitting the pavement with us next month, you may get lucky and spot Tanna on the track with you.

Claire Chafee’s comedy “Why We Have a Body” is a lighthearted fable, centering on four women, about love in all its permutations. Lili (Alex Sedrowski) is a private detective who specializes in investigating adulterous husbands yet falls in love with married woman Renee (Cathy Arden), whom she meets on an airplane. Lili’s sister, Mary (Tanna Frederick), fantasizes about being Joan of Arc and dreams of female empowerment, which she seeks to achieve by robbing convenience stores, until her life of crime catches up with her. The two sisters long for a close-knit family, but their mother, Eleanor (Barbara Bain), is too busy exploring exotic places to have time for maternal responsibilities. There is also a quintet of musicians (David Abrams, guitar; Cooper Appelt, bass; Robert Humphreys, drums and percussion; Kyle O’Donnell, saxophone; and Trevor Steer, piano), who play Edward Auslender’s eclectic score and interact with the actors.

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Tanna Frederick makes her directorial debut with Claire Chafee’s delightful “Why We Have A Body.” This spirited comedy is a joint venture with The Rainbow Theatre Company and The Edgemar Center for The Arts. Frederick’s direction is upbeat, spirited and brings out the best of her very talented ensemble cast which includes Barbara Bain (Eleanor, the absent mother), Cathy Arden (Renee, the lover), Alexandra Sedrowski (Lili, the private investigator sister) and of course Tanna Frederick (Mary, the crazed sister). It is no easy feat to self-direct but Frederick certainly meets this challenge well. She moved the play at a fast clip and had a very nice balance of the absurd and real and in the over-all pacing. This is one of playwright Claire Chafee’s best known works which premiered in San Francisco in 1993 with a long run and was revived last year and ran off Broadway. This comedy makes for an interesting and fun evening with laughs at the human foibles of the four women. Chafee shows what shaped much of women’s thinking through different generations. The play was done in a poetic and mystical style Chafee has many zinging one liners that give pause for thought. The dialog is rich with imagery.

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The Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Iowa will go to my dearest friend and “Queen of the Lot” co-star Tanna Frederick next year, for an amazing life of achievement post her college years. She beat out Ashton Kutcher and other alumni for the honor. “Thanks, Tommy, I am so appreciative of this. I loved my years in Iowa and I am proud to say that I attended the University of Iowa, and am still grateful for the confidence and the education they instilled in me. I truly believe it’s helped me in my life thus far, and I hope to continue making them as proud as I am of the school,” said Frederick.

This award is granted to University of Iowa graduates or former students for significant accomplishments in business or professional life or for distinguished human service to their community, state, or nation. What’s next for Frederick? There is much chatter in Tinseltown about her budding film career, and she’s still wowing audiences in “Sylvia,” directed by the legendary Gary Imhoff at the famed Edgemar Theatre for the Arts in Santa Monica.

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Project Save Our Surf 2011 from UFA Films.

Just south of Tower 28 at the Santa Monica Pier, TV celebrities and world-renowned professional surfers joined surfing legend Shaun Tomson and actress, surfer, and founder of Project Save Our Surf Tanna Frederick to raise $50,000 for our clean ocean and clean water beneficiaries.

There were 10 teams of 24 surfers, competing in 45-minute heats. Each surfer showed off their “mad skills,” with the celebs holding their own against the pros.

Santa Monica Bay has never experienced more fun, enthusiasm, sportsmanship, and—more importantly—dedication to its aliveness than the weekend of Oct. 15 and 16. The waves, although friendly, were challenging enough for the day’s event.

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The fourth annual Project Save Our Surf event took place this past weekend on the beach of Santa Monica. The celebrity surfathon benefited Santa Monica Baykeeper, Waves for Water, Inside the Outdoors and Tumelo Home. Artists on Demand was invited to attend day two of this amazing event.

A surfer relies on many things while surfing – the size of the waves, the wax on the board, the balance, when timing the “pop-up,” and many other elements.

Quality of the water is something that may not cross the minds of many, but is essential for a surfer.

The fourth annual Project Save Our Surf (S.O.S) reached out this past weekend Oct. 15, 16, to the citizens of Santa Monica and adjacent areas, bringing awareness to Santa Monica Bay’s poor health collaborating with celebrities, pro surfers, and first-time surfers.

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