Aid recipient: Jay Louden has been a longtime actor and director with the Evergreen Players, having most recently directed “The Dining Room” and performed in “The Explorer’s Club.” and “Enchanted April.” He has directed more than 30 productions, including “The 39 Steps” last month for StageDoor Theatre in Conifer. 
Last year, he appeared in Firehouse Theatre’s musical parody “Rock of Aging.” and in 2013 played Bill Fordham in Abster Productions’ August: “Osage County” (pictured below and right). In 1979, he made a guest appearance on TV’s “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” He played Liator in first-season episode “Justice.” Other TV credits include “A Minor Miracle,” the miniseries “Celebrity,” and “Dream West” (with F. Murray Abraham), “Jake and the Fatman,” “Laker Girls,” after which he eared his MFA in Directing from the University of California Irvine. Jay also taught theatre at Front Range Community College and Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids, and is certified by the National Society of Fight Choreographers.
His medical story: Jay was hospitalized three times between November and January because of diverticulitis, a condition where pouches form in the wall of the colon. If they become infected and rupture, it can be can be fatal. Jay had a major operation to remove an offending 1-foot section of his colon in December and then developed an infection that required another surgery in January. He then needed home care for about a month as he recovered. Now the bills are coming in, and although he has health insurance through his wife’s job, he still was facing $6,810 in post-insurance bills from Centura Health Avista Hospital, radiologists, acute-car clinicians and the anesthesiologist. And his home-car bills have not yet come in.
How we have helped: The Denver Actors Fund has approved an initial grant of $4,000 to help Jay work down over overall financial burden. Combined with targeted donations from the public, the DAF has made a total of $4,335 available to Jay.
How you can help us help Jay more: Even with this boost, Jay still faces $2,810 in unpaid medical bills, with an expectation of more bills to come. If you would like to direct a specific, additional donation to Jay, simply mail checks made out to The Denver Actors Fund (with Jay Louden’s name in the topic field) to P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO, 80212. Or use this donation link. If you use the online option, be sure to designate that your donation is targeted for Jay Louden. Otherwise, your donation will be applied to the replenishment of the Denver Actors Fund’s general fund.
A message from Jay: “I am eternally grateful for the assistance that the Denver Actors Fund provided me. This generous donation will help us weather the storm after the storm.”
Read testimonials from other Denver Actors Fund beneficiaries here
Note: At the Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have his or her story told.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US REPLENISH:
To DONATE the Denver Actors Fund, please CLICK HERE (with our humble thanks)
ABOUT THE DENVER ACTORS FUND:
Video above: The Denver Actors Fund receives the Colorado Theatre Guild’s 2016 Community Impact Award.
The Denver Actors Fund is a modest source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in medical need. To date, the Fund has allocated more than $210,000 to artists facing medical need. In addition to financial relief, a team of more than 60 Denver Actors Fund volunteers offers good neighborly assistance including meal prep and delivery, child care, transportation, errands, construction, pet-sitting and more. For more information, visit our web site at DenverActorsFund.Org.
HOW TO APPLY FOR AID:
To apply for Denver Actors Fund aid: Fill out this brief online form here
MORE WAYS TO HELP:
DONATE BY MAIL:
Send checks made out to the Denver Actors Fund to:
P.O. Box 11182
Denver, CO 80212
ATTEND UPCOMING DENVER ACTORS FUND EVENTS:
Saturday, March 24: WAITING FOR OBAMA
Heeding the call from Florida high-school students for a national day of dialogue, marches and protest, the Bas Bleu Theatre will present a community conversation on the prevalence of gun violence in America, followed by a reading of John Moore’s play Waiting for Obama about one Colorado family that, like so many others, is deeply divided by polarizing political beliefs. Waiting for Obama was praised at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival as “a powerful and timely play that depicts the problem of gun violence in the United States in an emotional but often humorous light.” The cast will include Laurence Curry, Chris Kendall, Leslie O’Carroll, Drew Horwitz, Maggy Stacy, John Hauser and Jenna Moll Reyes. Panel at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24, with the reading to follow at 7:30. p.m. Bas Bleu Theatre, 401 Pine St. in Fort Collins, CO 80524. Admission is free but donations to the Denver Actors Fund will be accepted. Reservations are strongly encouraged by calling 970-498-8949 or emailing basbleu@basbleu.org.
Monday, March 26: TOMMY
Join us on Monday, March 24, at Alamo Drafthouse by Sloan’s Lake for our next monthly film series event: The Who’s rock-concept film Tommy with live entertainment, ticket giveaways and other fun with the cast of the DCPA Theatre Company’s upcoming stage production of The Who’s Tommy. Scheduled to appear is Broadway and TV star Andy Mientus, star of Spring Awakening and Smash, and Lulu Fall (“Hair”), who plays The Acid Queen. Entertainment begins at 6:30 p.m., with the film starting at 7. CHOOSE YOUR PREFERRED SEATS HERE
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