W.T. Woodson Alumna Denise Dowse Honored For Career In Theater, Movies, TV

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A May 20 event will honor NAACP Award recipient and W.T. Woodson alumna Denise “Denny” Dowse for her career in theater, movies and television. Proceeds will fund college scholarships for the school’s drama program graduates.

Fans, friends and family will gather Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Joan Bedinger Auditorium at W.T. Woodson High School, 9525 Main St. in Fairfax, to celebrate the life of Dowse. She was an actor, director and drama coach who died August 12, 2022.

Dowse received the 1995 NAACP Image Award for best director, among several others. The following year, she also received an NAACP Image Award for best director for "The Chest" by Angela de Joseph, according to a news release.

Dowse, a Woodson High 1976 graduate, received numerous awards during her career that spanned the theater, television, movies and more. She starred in “Ray,” “90210” and “Coach Carter,” among her television and stage appearances.

Before her death last summer, she completed directing Hulu’s recently released movie “Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story.”

Dowse was also the long-time resident director at the Amazing Grace Conservatory in Los Angeles, where she influenced hundreds of students with a passion for acting and theater.

The May 20 event will kick off a fundraising campaign for college scholarships for students participating in Woodson’s drama program and will include tributes, live performances, video clips from Dowse’s career, and more.

While at Woodson, Dowse acted, served in student government, and played sports. During her first year after high school, she received a $1,000 scholarship that helped her travel the world with Up With People, launching her post-Woodson career in the performing arts.

Scholarships will be funded via a 501(c)(3) charitable trust established in Dowse’s honor based on her love since childhood of the Winnie the Pooh story.

Tickets are available by donating directly to “Poohzly’s Dream.”

Future fundraising will include inner city artistic programs, rehabilitation for veterans and support for battered women.