Actress and surfer Tanna Frederick makes waves
by Jen Jones
Ask anyone who grew up landlocked to recall a first glimpse of the ocean, and the person is almost sure to describe a Kodak moment. Yet for midwesterner Tanna Frederick it was more than just memorable; it was truly transformational. “I grew up in northern Iowa, where we had little lakes all around; the biggest one was Clear Lake, which was neon green and full of farming runoff and fertilizer,” remembers Frederick. “When I first came to L.A. and saw the Pacific, it was unbelievable to me—first of all, that it was blue, but also simply in its power and enormity. The beauty of big creatures being able to exist in the ocean was unfathomable.”
For Frederick, who’d moved west in 1999 to explore her acting aspirations, a strong connection to the environment was nothing new. Having grown up in a family of farmers, Frederick shares that “relying on the earth for our resources and paycheck really instilled a deep respect in me for everything that it gives us. I never took anything for granted—animals, the wind, the rain, the earth—as all of it contributed to whether we would eat or not. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been really involved in conservation.” It was in these early days that Frederick’s activist roots also started taking shape, as she remembers staging “Save the Rainforest” rallies for Greenpeace while still in elementary school.
All grown-up now and deep into her acting career, Frederick is still taking on causes close to the heart. Well-known for her work with environmental advocacy groups like Oceana, Frederick is in her third year of spearheading the Project SOS (aka Save our Surf) initiative. An annual fundraising event that Frederick co-founded with former world champion surfer Shaun Tomson, the surf-a-thon moves to Huntington Beach this year from its previous Ocean Park location in Santa Monica. Having raised more than $130,000 for Oceana the last two years, the 2010 event will benefit Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, and the Orange County Department of Education program, Inside the Outdoors. More than just a fashionable cause, the event has gained considerable cachet by attracting a slew of celebrities—from Michelle Rodriguez (Lost), Judd Nelson and Rosanna Arquette to pro surfers like James Pribram and Rob Machado.
For Frederick, the event has been an effective way to address global issues on a local level—as well as health risks that commonly affect Angeleno surf aficionados. “When you’re a new surfer, you aren’t privy to the fact that we have really nasty, dirty water here in the Bay,” laments Frederick. “[As experienced surfers], we got tired of having to wait 72 hours after it rains because of sewage runoff. We got tired of getting sick and getting infections, and seeing the beaches trashed after the weekends. Starting the surf-a-thon was our way of standing up for clean water and clean beaches.”
Frederick first got heavily involved in ocean protection efforts several years ago when she attended an Oceana event at the home of actress Victoria Tennant (with whom Frederick later co-starred in 2009’s Irene in Time). As Frederick became more familiar with the organization’s faces and aims, she found herself impressed with Oceana’s action-oriented approach and singular focus as the world’s biggest ocean conservation organization. “I started being invited to their gatherings and found the work they were doing to be really amazing,” she says. “Oceana was making good, elegant choices concerning the environment—not too liberal, not too conservative, just wise decisions. I also liked the fact that they make plans and accomplish them within a three-year period.”
Three years later, Frederick continues her involvement with Oceana, along with helming the Project SOS initiative. In January, she extended her environmental efforts with the launch of L.E.A.F. (Leaders of Environmental Action Films). Its Eco-Commercial Contest challenges Orange County high school students to make 30- to 60-second public service announcements on topics ranging from renewable energy to organic farming. As one of the founding partners, alongside Ed Begley and others, Frederick will also be filmed by participating students. “I think kids have the best energy and the most amazing ideas about how to solve our environmental problems,” says Frederick. “Their voices are our most critical, so to be working on something where they can share their ideas is a strong way to acknowledge them and let them be heard.”
With so much energy spent on activism offstage, one might wonder how Frederick finds time to follow her other true passion: acting. Yet the charismatic redhead’s career is also moving ahead full force. Through April, she can be found at Santa Monica’s Edgemar Center for the Arts starring in the Henry Jaglom-penned play, Just 45 Minutes from Broadway. The play’s success has prompted its adaptation into a movie, which begins filming in July. It’s been a satisfying progression for Jaglom and Frederick, who’ve collaborated on previous plays and films including 2006’s Hollywood Dreams, (which earned Frederick a Best Actress nod at the Fargo Film Festival), the aforementioned Irene in Time, and 2009’s Queen of the Lot, co-starring Noah Wyle.
When asked if she considers herself a muse for Jaglom, Frederick laughs and agrees amiably. “I am his muse, and it’s pretty friggin’ cool,” affirms Frederick, who first introduced herself to Jaglom via fan letter at the recommendation of a mutual colleague. “He often has me in mind as the lead from the get-go, and it adds to the depth of the films he makes. It’s more than any actress could ask for, and I’m very lucky!”
Somewhat of an indie darling, Frederick has numerous other projects on the horizon. In August she’ll begin filming Serendipity Green with Judd Nelson. Based on a book by Ron Levandoski (which Frederick optioned and adapted), the story centers on a repressed small-town librarian in Ohio and will be directed by Ron Vignone. “The winds are taking me to the right material and the right projects, so I’m going along for the ride,” says Frederick. “It’s like a 40-foot wave that is curling in front of me, and I’m on a nice Stewart single-fin longboard loving every minute of it.
Catch the Wave
Journey down to Huntington Beach on June 19–20 for Project SOS: Surf 24, a 24-hour surf-a-thon contest that will benefit Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay and Inside the Outdoors. Set to coincide with International Surfing Day, the event will be hosted by Frederick along with champion surfers P.T. Townsend and Shaun Tomson, and will feature both pro and recreational surf teams. Celebrities, live music, mural painting, art projects, volleyball, yoga, and eco-friendly food and product vendors will round out the day. “We’re expecting 5,000 people for turnout, which is way bigger than last year,” says Frederick. “We’re really stoked.”
For more information, visit projectsaveoursurf.org.
