Tanna Frederick

Tanna Frederick

Fall from Grace and Rises Again

ARTICLE & PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHERYL ARONSON

The classic Hollywood story – a beautiful, young actress moves from the Midwest to Los Angeles, desiring to make it big as an artist. She struggles, works as a waitress, gets rejected audition after audition, and then one day, she maneuvers to meet a famous, top-rated indie director who decides she has talent but also desires her romantically.

The result of this union? She stars in several of his indie arthouse films and theater productions (getting well-received reviews of her work). She also procures lead roles in other acclaimed theater productions and develops her creativity as a writer/producer/director. She rides the wave of this magical life of love and professional success for (two decades) until, one day, everything crashes down around her. She loses it all and moves back home to Iowa, gathering the courage to face herself, alcoholism, and heartbreak.

On the weekend of December 8th-10th, 2023, Tanna Frederick performed her one-woman show Hanyak, directed by Jenny Sullivan, produced by Ron Modro, and written by Tanna Frederick at Two Roads Theater in Studio City, California. This fictional, raw narrative mirrors the story above; however, we are warned…

“Hanyak is a fictional narrative – the things that Tanna did and saw, and the people she met and with whom she worked, encompass the events in the narrative. Names, locations, and courses of events are altered to protect the innocent and the guilty.”

I met Tanna Frederick at the height of her career in 2015 when she starred in the theater production Train to Zakopane, written and directed by Henry Jaglom (renowned film director, playwright, and Tanna’s husband). At this point, she had already starred in Jaglom’s indie films Hollywood Dreams (2006), Irene In Time (2009), Just 45 Minutes From Broadway (2012), and The M Word (2014). Watching Tanna Frederick’s performance as the antisemitic nurse was captivating. Soon after, I saw her play Lulu, the lead in Dutchman. Here’s what I wrote about her two performances.

Two plays…two stories…two time periods…two bigoted women characters, yet one actress. Tanna Frederick crushed the two roles of Lula, the terrifying and tempting seductress in Dutchman, and Katia, the innocent, ignorant, bigoted nurse in Train to Zakopane, with performances of mercurial creativity. From one moment to the next, Ms. Frederick’s portrayals of these racist women smacked us in the face with our projections about hate.

In 2016, I was invited onto the set of the virtual reality film Defrost, which was produced and starred Tanna Frederick and directed by Randal Kleiser (director of Grease). The virtual reality movie Defrost landed her trips to the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. She also spoke at the Virtual Reality World Conference at Crans-Montana (Switzerland), and right before she traveled to Europe, Ms. Frederick appeared at Digital Hollywood held in May 2016 on a panel regarding “Women in VR” and the production of Defrost.

There have been several more credits to Tanna’s career (Ovation, a Jaglom film in which she co-stars with James Denton), co-starred in the theatrical production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, directed by Carl Weathers (LA Times Theater Pick), in 2020 Frederick produced and released Two Ways Home and most recently Frederick directed Eric Roberts and Mimi Kennedy in Sy Rosen’s Death Pays Flora A Visit. She can be seen as the lead in South of Hope Street in early 2024 alongside Judd Nelson and Billy Baldwin.

Throughout the five years of our acquaintance, Tanna Frederick stood firmly rooted in myriad creative projects, commanding the multi-faceted kingdom of the arts as an actress, producer, and moviemaker visionary. But in 2020, Tanna disappeared from Los Angeles. I had no idea what had happened until I saw her one-woman show, Hanyak.

Here’s my interview with the multi-talented Tanna Frederick about her fall and rise from grace.

Chic Compass: Tanna, tell me why, after being an actress for twenty years, starring in several theater productions and feature films, you wrote a one-woman show.

Tanna Frederick: As an artist, I always hope to do something that scares me, and I find nothing more terrifying than doing a one-woman show! It’s taken me decades to gain enough courage to return to this medium after having a disastrous experience in college with two professors who tore down my confidence to do this.

Chic Compass: You developed your show Hanyak during the pandemic while returning home to Iowa from Los Angeles. At this time, you had gotten an annulment from your partner, Henry Jaglom.

Tanna Frederick: I received an annulment from the state of California from Henry in 2019. I had found out he had disowned children with me with his ex and that was a really tough discovery after we had been going through IVF. We had been married since 2013 but had had a long-standing relationship personally and professionally. I acted in several of his films and theater productions. When the pandemic hit, I was alone and heartbroken. I returned to my home in Iowa and isolated myself with my dogs for a couple of months. From here, I felt compelled to write and then the writing became therapeutic. The feelings of loneliness and sadness overwhelmed my emotional body which caused me to relive the many painful experiences I had been through in my relationship and career in Hollywood. Yet, I was also shedding the pain – releasing the depression and anger that had been stirring inside of me. The experience was terrifying – leading me to restructure the painful experiences that my brain had tossed into dark corners. As I reflected on my life, I wanted to develop this character who was following the hero’s journey –expose the skeleton of her life so she could gain insight and self-love.

Chic Compass: Talk more about the process of writing Hanyak.

Tanna Frederick: I felt like I was doing my therapy, and by telling my story, I had to be vulnerable, honest, and self-deprecating.

Chic Compass: Tanna, discuss your career on stage and in films. I first saw you perform in Train to Zakopane, written and directed by Henry Jaglom.

Tanna Frederick: Train to Zakopane was a true story written about Henry Jaglom’s father, who was Jewish and fell in love with an anti-Semitic nurse. It was a beautiful story, and I played the nurse along with Mike Falco, who played Henry’s father. I also did the theater production 45 minutes from Broadway, which ran for a year, and we ended up filming it with Judd Nelson as my love interest.

Then I did Dutchman, written by Amari Baraka, an incredible piece directed by Levy Lee Simon. I wanted to play the lead role of Lula, the temptress, forever. The play was accepted into the National Black Theater Festival held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It was one of the most incredible experiences in my life!

Chic Compass: Carl Weathers directed you and Robert Standley in the play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

Tanna Frederick: Carl was a fantastic director. When I asked Carl to direct the play, I expected him to say no because it is done all the time and because of time constraints. But he said yes. I was shocked and delighted. I felt we were like caged beasts because Carl tested our physical prowess to play the roles. For him, it was natural because he brings incredible athleticism to each of his characters.

Chic Compass: Tanna, you also produced Defrost with Randal Kleiser (Director of Grease), starring Bruce Davidson, Carl Weathers, Harry Hamlin, Veronica Cartwright, and Christopher Atkins.

Tanna Frederick: I produced and acted in the virtual reality movie Defrost, which Randal Kleiser directed. The virtual reality film landed us trips to the Sundance and Cannes film festivals.

Chic Compass: Randal Kleiser and Bruce Davidson came to see your one-woman show recently. How did you feel about them being in the audience?

Tanna Frederick: It felt like I had taken a giant step forward in my career again, and they were very supportive and encouraging. I didn’t have a great perception of myself and didn’t know if this one-woman show was any good. But people are seeing the play and are very supportive.

Chic Compass: I want to talk about the word grace. The definition is – merited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification. I think your story revealed in Hanyak – a struggling actress who finds huge success married to a very famous director – you had the Hollywood dream life. You fall from grace, struggle, and overcome alcoholism, lose everything, and are now returning to Hollywood by yourself. Talk about this journey.

Tann Frederick: It’s very personal. I’m so grateful for everything that has happened. I realized what’s important in life and understood how many amazing simple things happen each day to appreciate. I had to go through a lot of painful experiences that changed me. Those experiences changed my communication mode in directing, writing, and acting.

Chic Compass: Did you ever feel a divine presence around you that might have saved your life?

Tanna Frederick: I can’t believe that I am still alive and everyday is a gift. What’s important to me spiritually is helping other people through sharing my story.

At first, I was scared to be alone, and then I started to feel the sturdiness of being alone. I’m getting back in touch with old friends and have these beautiful relationships back that are flowering.

Chic Compass: What does Hanyak mean?

Tanna Frederick: A Hanyak is a term my Czech grandfather used on the farm when I was growing up for disobedient family members. – as expressing any sort of emotionality back on the farm was more a sign of weakness than strength.

But I looked the name up and it means being a peasant or any sort of person who goes after opportunities and gets bitten by the same consequences over and over.

I feel that’s what actors do again and again – we get screwed by auditions, and this whole town is kind of like a giant Hanyak! Nonetheless, as actors we are gallant. We forge forward anyway, and we can celebrate ourselves for all of our struggles because we’re creating brave work via our experiences and sharing them with others which fosters healing and community.