Denver Actors Fund has been there for Meghan Ralph since 2014
Financial aid recipient: Meghan Ralph has been heavily involved in the Denver theater community since 2004. In those 20 years, she’s worked as actor, stage manager, assistant director, run crew, box office, bartender, photographer and anything in-between. Most recently she was in “Pride and Prejudice” at Firehouse Theater Company in 2022 and will assistant direct “Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Vintage Theater this spring.
Her medical stories: The Denver Actors Fund has been there for Meghan through years of medical uncertainty dating back to 2014, when she was just our sixth aid recipient. When Meghan needed emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder, the DAF provided $700 toward her out-of-pocket expenses, and our Army of Angels, otherwise known as the DAF volunteers, delivered several homemade gluten- and dairy-free meals to Meghan’s home.
Meghan also underwent a dental odyssey that left her with an emergency crown and $1,120 in out-of-pocket expenses for the procedure. But when the pain intensified rather than going away, we sent her to partnering DAF dentist Brian Kelly (also a former Broadway dancer!), who performed a root canal that brought Meghan back to pain-free dental health – an in-kind donation valued at $968. That’s essentially how much Meghan would have had to pay any other dentist post out-of-pocket. Because of this unique partnership, Meghan receiving the essential treatment she needed at no actual cost to her – or The Denver Actors Fund.
More to the story: Since August 2018, Meghan has had various medical encounters related to an autoimmune disease including bimonthly infusions, and the DAF has helped with her expenses along the way. Most recently, in October 2023, Meghan found herself in the ER in pain and looking for more answers. In the same week, her 18-year-old kitty, Grace, needed an emergency veterinary visit. The PAWS Fund was able to help Grace and the DAF was able to help Meghan with bills from the year that were threatening to overwhelm her. To date, the overall support the DAF has provided to Meghan totals $7,320.51. Of that, $6,381 gone toward Meghan’s medical expenses, and $939 came from the PAWS Fund.
LOW FUNDING ALERT: THE NEW PAWS FUND HAS BURNED THROUGH ITS ALLOTMENT. DONATE TODAY TO KEEP IT GOING!
What is the PAWS Fund?: The PAWS Fund is a new, separate fund administered by the Denver Actors Fund to help qualified Colorado theater artists (both on- and off-stage) with sudden veterinary medical expenses. The PAWS Fund launched in May with $35,000 in seed money, and thanks to additional donations, it already has distributed $45,000 to qualified applicants! But that leaves the PAWS Fund with a present remaining balance of just $3,1,24. If designated donations to the PAWS Fund continue to come in, the PAWS Fund will continue. If not, it will expire whenever the balance is gone. If you would like to help us keep it going, simply mail checks in any amount made out to Denver Actors Fund, P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO 80212, Please write “PAWS Fund” in the memo field. Or use this donation link, with our humble thanks. When you donate online, be sure to use the pull-down menu that gives you the option to specifically designate your donation to the PAWS Fund by choosing “Domestic Animal Medical.” Otherwise, as always, your donation will go to the General Fund and will be reserved for our primary mission, which is paying qualified applicants’ own (human!) medical bills.
‘THANK YOU FOR HAVING MY BACK.’ – MEGHAN RALPH
A message from Meghan: “I am floored. I was becoming so overwhelmed and afraid to open the mail for whatever bill might be coming in next. Having received so much help from The Denver Actors Fund before, it felt like too much, and I was waiting for a ‘No.’ But the DAF and PAWS Fund were built with our amazing community saying ‘YES’ to helping. What a gift to get to start the new year with that ‘yes’ in my heart! Thank you so much for turning fear into a fresh start. I’m so grateful!
Read more Denver Actors Fund testimonials by clicking here
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 presents the memorial video at the Colorado Theatre Guild’s 2023 Henry Awards.
The Denver Actors Fund is a 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 $1,300,000 to more than 560 artists facing medical need. In addition to financial relief, a team of more than 100 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 80211
VOLUNTEER:
Ever thought about taking a more active role in The Denver Actors Fund? Click here for more information
SHOP AT KING SOOPERS
Sign up for King Soopers’ Community Rewards Program and raise money for The DAF just by shopping for your groceries – and it doesn’t cost you an extra penny. To sign up, simply go here and designate The DAF as your preferred non-profit. Each quarter, King Soopers sends us a donation based on how much our supporters have spent. Thanks to all of you who are shopping for The DAF.
DONATE YOUR CAR
The Denver Actors Fund is now registered to accept vehicle donations, thanks to a new partnership with Vehicles for Charity. You can turn your unwanted but usable vehicle into greatly appreciated funds for The Denver Actors Fund. The process is simple. The DAF will receive 80 percent of auction proceeds, and a receipt for the donation will be sent to you that can be used for tax purposes. Read all about it here.
VOLUNTEER:
Ever thought about taking a more active role in the Denver Actors Fund? Click here for more information
COME TO THE EVENTS THAT SUPPORT US:
MONDAY, JANUARY 29: Please Join us for Miners Alley Playhouse‘s Industry Night performance of “Misery.” Miners Alley is continuing its phenomenal commitment to dedicate ALL PROCEEDS from one designated performance of each run to go to The Denver Actors Fund. “Misery” is William Goldman’s edge-of-your-seat adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, directed by Warren Sherrill and starring Emma Messenger an Torsten Hillhouse. In the story, popular novelist Paul Sheldon is “rescued” from a horrible car crash by his number one fan, nurse Annie Wilkes, who takes him prisoner while he recuperates. And on this night only, $51 tickets can be yours for only $20. Since 2014, MAP has generated more than $60,000 in donations to The Denver Actors Fund through evening just like this one. Thank you to all involved, including cast, crew, creatives and staff. We love you, Miners Alley Playhouse! If you plan to go see this great show, please consider joining us at 7:30 p.m. on MONDAY, JANUARY 29. The (new!) Miners Alley Playhouse is located at 1100 Miners Alley in Golden. Call 303-935-3044 or choose your own seats at minersalley.com.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5: Please join us for Town Hall Arts Center’s Industry Night performance of “Urinetown,” a satirical musical that lambasts capitalism, environmental collapse, municipal politics, and doomed star-crossed love. In a sprawling but collapsing urban metropolis, a 20-year drought has caused a catastrophic water-shortage that’s led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens of said metropolis must use public amenities owned and operated by an evil corporation that profits by charging admission to the most popular seat in the house, so to speak. A hero will arise. A revolution will be sparked. And an unlikely love story will unfold. But will any of it be enough to topple the corrupt and malevolent powers-that-be? Will the people ever again pee for free? Our friends at Town Hall are continuing their incredible commitment to designate one performance per run with 100 percent of all proceeds from ticket and concession sales to be donated to The Denver Actors Fund. Join us on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, at 2450 Main St. in Littleton. Tickets are only $22 (normally as much as $52). Reserve your seats at 303-794-2787 or townhallartscenter.org.
MORE UPCOMING TOWN HALL BENEFIT PERFORMANCES:
- Monday, April 8: “A Raisin in the Sun”
- Monday, June 3: “The Prom”
THROUGH FEBRUARY 10: Cast members from the new Veritas Productions’ inaugural staging of “School of Rock” will share DAF stories and accept donations following performances at Parker Arts’ PACE Center. “We can’t wait to see how this campaign plays out and hope it will be a massive kickstarter for 2024,” said organizer (and monthly DAF donor!) Nancy Begley. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock” is a musical based on the hit movie. It follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn an extra bit of cash by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight–A pupils into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. But can he get them to the Battle of the Bands without their parents and the school’s headmistress finding out? Tickets at parkerarts.org.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12: Mary Kay Dailey, everybody’s friend, mom, teacher, rock, rock star and musical muse, was an early recipient of our new PAWS Fund, which provides Colorado theater artists with assistance paying their pet medical bills, and she is giving back in a big way! Mary is producing and hosting her “Applause for Paws” cabaret at the Denver Improv on February 12. Dailey, who is a frequent Music Director around town at theaters including Vintage and Town Hall Arts Center, is gathering a star-studded lineup of pet-loving performers including Shannan Steele, Jalyn Webb, Traci Kern Piper, Tim Howard, Matthew Dailey (her son!), Kate Vallee, Norrell Moore, Carter Edward Smith, Nolan Baker, Suzanna Champion, Anna Maria High, Jennasea Pearce, Nancy Begley, Sara Kowalski, Adriane Leigh Robinson, Bryce Baxter and even Kenny Moten, co-president of the Denver Actors Fund Board of Directors. The emcees for the evening will be Patric Case and Piper Arpan. The musicians will include Mary, David Nehls, Andrew Fischer, Lynn Keller and Sean Case.
Mary’s co-host will be her dog, Bruno, and the evening will end with a major (fun) announcement). When Bruno had a health scare earlier this year, the DAF helped with the bills, prompting Mary to write: “Both Bruno and I want to thank you for your support and we hope you will consider this as a gift that will return to you over time.” This is that time! Tickets are $25 at denver.improv.com. All proceeds go to the DAF’s PAWS Fund, which already has made $48,000 available to members of the Colorado theater community for their pet medical expenses. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., social hour 6-7 and show at 7 p.m. at 8246 Northfield Blvd., Unit 1400, Denver, CO 80238. Tickets are $25 at etix.com, with bar and food service available.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12: Our faithful friends at Firehouse Theatre Company have again designated their next Industry Night performance as a benefit, with 100 percent of proceeds going to The Denver Actors Fund. It’s “Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years,” a sparkling romantic comedy by Pearl Cleage. Every year since Emancipation, the Nacirema Society of Montgomery, Ala., introduces six elegant African-American debutants to a world of wealth, privilege and social responsibility. This year, at its 100th anniversary, with young love brewing, old flames simmering and national media attention on hand … what would dare to go awry? For the ladies of the Nacirema Society, bus boycotts and freedom marches don’t hold a candle to the importance of making the perfect entrance … or plotting the perfect blackmail. Cleage is also the author of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” and “Flyin’ West,” which won Firehouse a 2022 True West Award. Tickets are only $15 (normally $25) on this night only. Order yours by going to firehousetheatercompany.com. Be sure to choose Industry Night (Feb. 12). 7:30 p.m. at the John Hand Theater at 7653 E. 1st Place, Denver, 80230. Thank you to all involved, including cast, crew, creatives, staff, Producing Artistic Director Helen Hand, for your steadfast commitment to helping the DAF help Colorado theater artists!
FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 2: Our friends at Littleton High School will be collecting donations after every performance of “Young Frankenstein.” This wickedly inspired re-imagining of the classic Mel Brooks movie follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein <i> (“that’s Fronkensteen!) </i> as he attempts to create a monster – but not without comic complications. The brains behind the laughter is the mad genius himself – Brooks wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book – along with his team from “The Producers:” Five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman and three-time Tony-winning writer, Thomas Meehan. 199 E Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80121
SUNDAY, MARCH 3: Ebner-Page Productions, the pair who conceived the 2017 “United in Love” concert that resulted in the largest donation to the Denver Actors Fund on our history, is back with “Love Changes Everything,” an all-new DAF benefit concert at the Aurora Fox, 9900 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80010. The lineup (subject to change) will include Eugene Ebner, Jalyn Webb, Patric Case, Natalie Oliver-Atherton, Jeffrey Denman, Piper Lindsay Arpan, Leiney Rigg, Nick Rigg Johnson, Scott Hurst, Debbie Schwartz McGinley, Bob Hoppe, America Jackson, 3MoMezzos, Bobby Bennett, Monique Jacques Lester, Traci Kern Piper. Music Direction by Paul Falk. Tickets on sale at arts-people.com
ONGOING: “Waiting for Obama,” the audio version of DAF Founder John Moore’s play that was an official selection at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival, has been released as way of raising funds for The Denver Actors Fund. A Colorado Springs family is convinced that Barack Obama is coming for their guns in the final weeks of his presidency – and they’re right. Featuring Laurence Curry, Drew Horwitz, Chris Kendall, Leslie O’Carroll, Jenna Moll Reyes, Jessica Robblee, Luke Sorge and Mare Trevathan. It was recorded by the staff of Parker Arts at the PACE Center as an in-kind donation to The Denver Actors Fund. Listen for FREE on all major podcasting platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podbean. Just by listening, you will be raising revenue for The DAF! Or, WATCH the recording as a pay-per-view video for $9.95 on Broadway on Demand. ‘Waiting for Obama’ was recorded by the staff of Parker Arts at the PACE Center and edited by Ray Bailey TV as in-kind donations to The Denver Actors Fund. The actors also donated their services.
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