‘I’m now able to replenish funds that were lost while I was sick.’ Aid recipient: Actor Jacob Villarreal has been an active member of the Colorado theatre community since first moving here in 2012. You may have seen him around the state in “Forever Plaid,” “Hair,” “In the Heights,” “The Music Man,” “Smokey Joe’s Cafe”… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Jacob Villarreal
Author: John Moore
Award-winning arts journalist John Moore was named one of the 12 most influential theater critics in the United States by American Theatre Magazine during has 12 years at The Denver Post. Hen then created a groundbreaking new media outlet covering Colorado arts an culture as an in-house, multimedia journalist for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He also founded The Denver Actors Fund, a nonprofit that has raised more than $600,000 for theatre artists in medical need. He is now a journalist for hire as the founder of Moore Media Colorado. You can find samples of his work at MooreJohn.Com. Contact him at culturewestjohn@gmail.com
Denver Actors Fund in Action: David Jensen
‘To have a resource like The Denver Actors Fund touches me so very deeply.’ Aid recipient: David Jensen just completed a run of “Our Town” at Miners Alley Playhouse playing the town drunk, Simon Stimson. David’s recent roles have included Henry and others in “Angels in America,” directed by Timothy McCracken; Dr. John Buchanan Sr.… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: David Jensen
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Mark Dissette
‘Ask for the help. God knows we all need it at one time or another.’ Aid recipient: For all 30 years of the acclaimed Phamaly Theatre Company‘s existence, Denver actor Mark Dissette has been a member. Phamaly is one of the only companies in the world that exists to create performance opportunities for actors… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Mark Dissette
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry
‘This is a huge comfort, and a weight off of my mind’ Aid recipient: Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry is a longtime local actor, director and sound director, mostly with Lowry’s Spotlight Theatre. He played Ed Carmichael, the chime-playing son-in-law, in Spotlight’s farewell production of “You Can’t Take It With You” last September. Before that, he was… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Teal Jandrain $4,195
‘Now I can use my strengths and energy to help others and pay it forward’ Aid recipient: Actor Teal Jandrain is a Fort Collins native who has has been acting since childhood. She got her start at the educational Debut Theatre Company, and has been a company member with OpenStage Theatre Company for two… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Teal Jandrain $4,195
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Regina Fernandez: $2,440
‘This means more to me than you could possibly know’ Aid recipient: Actor Regina Fernandez is a company member for the Arvada Center’s 2019 black-box season, meaning she is currently appearing in “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “The Moors” and “Sin Street Social Club” – all at the same time. In 2017, she appeared… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Regina Fernandez: $2,440
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Kathleen Traylor
‘Thanks to The Denver Actors Fund, I will be able to hear my director, my fellow actors and the band’ Aid recipient: Kathleen Traylor of Littleton is one of the founding members of Phamaly Theatre Company, which she helped to create in 1989 when she and four other students from the Boettcher School in Denver… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Kathleen Traylor
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Katrina Niemisto
‘Here I am. Breathing, because of you.’ Aid recipient: Katrina Niemisto of Denver is a stage manager in the local theatre community who has worked most recently at the Lone Tree Arts Center and for the Denver Center Theatre Company’s Colorado New Play Summit. Her medical story: Katrina recently underwent a complicated hip surgery necessitated… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Katrina Niemisto
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Matthew D. Peters
‘I’m so thankful for this amazing program that has helped so many actors in town, now including myself’ Aid recipient: Boulder High School graduate Matthew D. Peters is a busy actor, director and choreographer who most recently directed ‘The Little Mermaid’ for BDT Stage (and played Jetsam), choreographed ‘Newsies’ for Candlelight Dinner Playhouse and… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Matthew D. Peters
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Amy Arpan
‘It’s powerful medicine to know there are great people out there in the world’ Aid recipient: Amy Arpan is an actor and circus choreographer who most recently appeared as Mrs. Soames in Miners Alley Playhouse’s production of “Our Town.” She is also the owner and principal performer at Amy Arpan’s Illusions And Confusions. She is… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Amy Arpan
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Matt Gnojek
A superhero in our midst injured in the service of others finds a community waiting to help him in his time of need Aid recipient: Denver native Matt Gnojek recently starred as Seymour in Equinox Theatre Company’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. The Aurora Sentinel’s Ramsey Scott called Gnojek “an amazing singer whose talent… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Matt Gnojek
Kenny Moten joins Denver Actors Fund Board of Directors
‘Kenny Moten does everything with integrity. He’s a solid human being.’ If you think being a performer is hard, try being a performer and the owner of your own entertainment and consulting company. Kenny Moten makes the transition from actor to producer to businessman and back again in same manner that often describes his rich… Continue reading Kenny Moten joins Denver Actors Fund Board of Directors
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Rob Riney
‘Without your help, I never would have been able to see a light at the end of this very long tunnel.’ Aid recipient: Rob Riney has performed on stages around the state for more than 10 years, most recently in the Aurora Fox’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Equinox Theatre’s Disaster The Musical and the… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Rob Riney
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Kent Sugg
‘I’m blown away by the kindness and generosity of The Denver Actors Fund’ Aid recipient: Kent Sugg is a veteran actor and director living in Boulder. He has most recently payed Emma’s father in Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s production of Jekyll and Hyde, Porter in Tarzan, Fagin in Oliver!, the title role in Scrooge and a… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Kent Sugg
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Emma Maxfield
Aid recipient: Emma Maxfield is a busy local actor currently performing in the Arvada Center’s children’s theatre production of Seussical and having just understudied the two female roles in BDT Stage’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change in Boulder. She previously starred as Julia in Performance Now’s The Wedding Singer and played Taylor… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Emma Maxfield
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Miriam Suzanne
Aid recipient: Miriam Suzanne is a True West Award-winning writer, director, producer, actor and musician whose unconventional novel Riding SideSaddle was adapted for the stage by Buntport Theater in 2016 as 10 Myths on the Proper Application of Beauty Products. The play, a story of gender fluidity and transition, took place in a bathroom as… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Miriam Suzanne
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Maggie Lamb
Aid recipient: Maggie Lamb (who long went by the name Margie), had been performing in the local theatre community for two decades when she was cast as the bipolar wife and mother Diana in Next to Normal, and it changed the trajectory of her stage career forever. Maggie would never be looked at the same… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Maggie Lamb
Miscast 2018 for Denver Actors Fund: Performer lineup announced
Some of the local theatre community’s top performers will gather at the Mizel to support The Denver Actors Fund Miscast 2018, the fifth annual fundraiser for The Denver Actors Fund, returns Monday, Sept. 17, at a new home: The Mizel Arts and Cultural Center. Miscast is an opportunity for some of the local theatre community’s top… Continue reading Miscast 2018 for Denver Actors Fund: Performer lineup announced
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Sue Thompson
Aid recipient: Sue Thompson, originally from Portland, Maine, is a Denver actor who last appeared in the ensemble of Performance Now’s “Hello, Dolly” in 2017. Sue has lived in Colorado since she was 11. She went to ThunderRidge High School in Highlands Ranch and studied Music Theatre at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, where… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Sue Thompson
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Will Ferrie
Aid recipient: Fort Collins native Will Ferrie, a graduate of Rocky Mountain High School, is an award-winning actor and longtime member of OpenStage & Company in Fort Collins who most recently played Sir Robin in Monty Python’s Spamalot. He won the OPUS Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work as Bartley in The Cripple… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Will Ferrie
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Faith Ford
Aid recipient: Loveland native Faith Siobahn Ford Ford is a graduate of Thompson Valley High School and the University of Northern Colorado. She is currently playing Alice Beineke in Vintage Theatre’s production of The Addams Family through October 27. played Tracy Turnblad in the Town Hall Arts Center’s “Hairspray” and was an ensemble member in… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Faith Ford
Denver Actors fund in Action: Xavier Frétard
The actor: Xavier Frétard was a longtime circus performer who came to Colorado Springs in his early 20s and performed for 15 years with the Millibo Art Theatre in Manitou Springs. His signature routine, according to co-founder Birgitta De Pree, was riding a tall bicycle he built while wearing 5-foot stilts and a red top… Continue reading Denver Actors fund in Action: Xavier Frétard
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Tresha Farris
Aid recipient: Tresha Farris is a 25-year-old Colorado native who studied acting and writing at the University of Colorado Denver and at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts through its Education classes. She most recently played Cordelia in Fearless Theatre’s production of “King Lear” and was in the ensemble of an original play called… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Tresha Farris
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Broc Timmerman
Aid recipient: Broc Timmerman of Loveland has been an actor at the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown for most of its 10-year existence, most recently as a tumbling salt shaker in Beauty and the Beast; in the ensemble of Kiss Me, Kate; as Tenario in Man of La Mancha, and, coming up next, in Newsies.… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Broc Timmerman
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Gloria Shanstrom
Aid recipient: Gloria Shanstrom’s involvement in the Colorado performing-arts community began in 1985 as an usher at Boettcher Concert Hall. She was named the House Manager at the Auditorium Theatre (now the Ellie Caulkins Opera House) in 1997, then the Buell Theatre just before it opened in 1991. In 1997, she was hired as a… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Gloria Shanstrom
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Andrew Metzroth
Aid recipient: Andrew “Metz” Metzroth is a native of Boulder and graduate of Fairview High School who left CU-Boulder with a BA (Religious Studies), a BFA (Theatre Technology and Design) and an MA (Theatre). Overall, Metz has helped create more than 125 shows in the metro area since 2005. He has been an ensemble member… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Andrew Metzroth
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Tim Campbell
Aid recipient: Tim Campbell is a well-known local actor currently working as the Food Service Manager at Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, located 45 miles north of Denver in Johnstown. Tim, a graduate of Lakewood High School and Metropolitan State University of Denver, most recently played bumbling alcoholic uncle Billy in Candlelight’s A Wonderful Life. Other… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Tim Campbell
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Mitch Jervis
Aid recipient: Mitch Jervis is a longtime guitarist in the Colorado theatre community who recently played in the band for the Denver Center’s “First Date” at the Garner Galleria Theatre. Mitch has too many theatrical credits to count, but here are a random few: “Pump Boys and Dinettes” with late local actor Daniel Langhoff… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Mitch Jervis
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Jeff Jesmer
Aid recipient: Denver actor Jeff Jesmer, who works at many Denver theatres as both an actor and scenic builder/designer, is currently appearing as David Cameron in Vintage Theatre’s “The Audience.” Other recent roles include John Proctor in “The Crucible,” Richard in “The Lion in Winter” and Paul in “The Champagne Charlie Stakes” (all for Firehouse… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Jeff Jesmer
Denver Actors Fund in Action: Trenton J. Schindele
‘Because of this help, I am able to stay active and stay walking’ Aid recipient: Trenton J. Schindele of Northglenn is a longtime actor for the Phamaly Theatre Company, having appeared in many productions including “Evita,” “Fuddy Meers,” “Cabaret” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” (“As Motel, Trenton Schindele is authentic and down-to-earth,” wrote Juliet Wittman… Continue reading Denver Actors Fund in Action: Trenton J. Schindele