Events & Culture

Tanna talks as Sylvia comes to Santa Monica

INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES LONBERGER

As the hit play Sylvia wanders into Santa Monica, at the Edgemar on May 19^th, following a smash run in Sierra Madre, I had a chat with its star, Tanna Frederick, who has been garnering great acclaim in the title role of…a dog.

I asked, “It’s quite a switch from being "Queen of the Lot" (her recently released film) to impersonating a canine. Does this require a different mindset, or is one just the 

inverse of the other?

The “red wrecker” smiled. “Yes, they are very different mindsets - a dog works off a single minded focus:  it's when do we eat, I want a treat, I hate that cat, or, look at that lovely pair of Christian Loboutins; I want to chew the crap out of them. Dogs have such acute sensory mechanisms, and they zero in on one situation and that becomes the focus of everything.  My character in “Queen of the Lot,” Maggie, was always trying to keep up with everything and take in all the bits and pieces and emotional atmosphere and information and fit them together like a puzzle she could work with.  With dogs there's none of that.  It's 'what's happening right now is all I care about.'  It's fun.”  

I couldn’t help but wonder, “How do you prepare for playing a dog? Is it based on observation, or do you have, shall we say, more personal experience in the role?”

Straightforwardly, she answered, “I had a very personal experience with my dog Garbo in preparing for this role.  Let's just say we became very close.  I have a newfound respect for her trials and tribulations, her unspoken wisdom and drama with squirrels.  I've been hanging out with her as much as possible without annoying her or cramping her image.  I think she's transferred some of her boundless love and joy to me…because I tend to jump up on people and get really excited when I see them now!  Politesse has taken the back seat-but…hey, that's a dog's world for you.  If someone smiles at you and has a free hand to scratch you with, just go with the flow, man.  There's no room for ego when you're talking belly rubs.”

I continued, “In what ways do you think the role of the dog contributes to the 

developing interrelationship of the other characters in the play? And is it not, in fact, a disguised menage a trois?”

Tanna hesitated. “That's a very funny question.  Yes, in some ways it is the midlife crisis for the character of Greg, and his distraction comes in the form of a dog versus a sportswear or 20-something-year-old woman…But though the dog is the symbolic crack in the marriage and the conflict of this couple, she ultimately becomes the glue that holds the relationship together - without giving too much away.  People have very different relationships to their dogs at different points in their lives - odd ones sometimes.  Sometimes they use their pets to fill a void or needs that are not being met and, while pets are wonderful, an imbalance of canine love overriding human love can get a bit out of whack.”

 I probed further. “Do you feel drama or comedy is the more challenging medium for you?”

And she responded immediately. “Both are equally as difficult - as one can't exist without the other.  I think comedy is only funny when there is a great deal of pain insinuated behind it, and I think drama can only be felt when the character is utilizing a great deal of denial and comedy to hide their hurt.  Both are a symbiotic relationship that feeds off one another, and only with both being used fully is art really powerful to watch.  Sounds like something from a Theatre 101 handbook, but I believe it's very true.  My favorite actors seem to have a well of sadness but an implicit irony in their reaction to life…Bogart, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis…They all played out high stakes with dramatic and comedic flair, but knew just how to finesse it enough to where they didn't wear out the audience.”

Finally, I asked her to address the importance of versatility in her art.

“Art is versatility….Creating reactions to conflict in your space, problem solving, recognizing shifts happening in people and emotions and letting those shifts flow through yourself…That's our main job, our main tool as artists,” she enthused. “And I love solving conflict, creating conflict, modifying conflict, going with the flow…The same goes for theatre and film - being able to do both is of vital importance to me - to be able to convert the energy of a live audience to film work, and the nuances of film to stage work - is imperative.”

“And,” she concluded, “to play a dog, well, that's about as dandy an opportunity of versatility as you can get…So,” she winked, “woof woof!!!”

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