Shipwreck rescuer gets some help in return from dentist Brian Kelly
About Rose Metcalf: Rose Metcalf was born in Dorchester, England, and started dancing as soon as she could walk. Career highlights include performing on London’s West End and touring the U.K. as Sheila in “A Chorus Line.” Rose was performing as a dancer on the Costa Concordia cruise ship when it ran aground off the Isola del Giglio in 2012, leaving 32 dead. Rose coordinated much of the on-board rescue operation, saving hundreds of lives and was the last survivor stranded on the ship. Rose then took a break from performing to deal with her PTSD and eventually moved to Lafayette, Colorado. She has resumed performing, most recently in “A Christmas Story” and “The Little Mermaid” at BDT Stage, and “The Producers” at Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. Rose’s remarkable story has been featured from NBC News to the London Daily Mail, and she is also now working as a life coach.
Her medical story: Rose recently developed an ache in two teeth. But with no health insurance and just $74 (!) per week in unemployment insurance, she had few options for treatment until she reached out to The Denver Actors Fund.
How we have helped: The Denver Actors Fund has a partnering dentist in Dr. Brian Kelly DDS, who accepts a limited number of emergency cases each year as his personal, in-kind donation to The DAF with his kind associates at the Dental Center at Thornton Plaza. Dr. Kelly performed an exam, X-Rays and put a crown on Rose. (Her tooth, not her head.) The value of Dr. Kelly’s services to a typical patient would have come to $1,717. In addition, The Denver Actors Fund paid $99 to cover an outside lab fee, bringing our total support for Rose to $1,816. Rose paid nothing, To date, the total value of Dr. Kelly’s service to the Denver Actors Fund is $82,000 since 2017. It’s no wonder that last year, 5280 Magazine included Dr. Kelly among Denver’s top dentists as chosen by his peers for the 12th year in a row. Dr. Kelly is himself a dancer and a veteran of four Broadway productions.
How you can help us help us help more Colorado theatre artists: If you would like to make a donation to The Denver Actors Fund, simply mail checks in any amount made out to Denver Actors Fund to P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO 80211. Or use this donation link, with our humble thanks.
‘When my toothache became debilitating, I was without options.’
A message from Rose: “Generating a livable income as a theatre performer is already a feat. Throw in a pandemic where audiences and artists cannot come together, and now so many of us are experiencing ongoing financial hardship. When my toothache became debilitating, I was without options. The Denver Actors Fund was my glimmer of hope, and I cannot tell you what a relief it was when they teamed up with Dr. Kelly to get me the help I needed. My smile is something I truly treasure – and a necessity for a cheery Honey Tap! Not only did Dr. Kelly gift me with excellent dental care, he did it with show tunes and stories of his time as Mark in “A Chorus Line” on Broadway, which led him to becoming a dentist. (It’s a great story!) I honestly don’t know what I would have done without Dr. Kelly, his team and the aid of The Denver Actors Fund. My sincere hope is to return as a benefactor so fellow theatre professionals also receive help when they need it. If you love theatre and are wondering how you can help struggling artists right now, please donate to The Denver Actors Fund!”
Read testimonials from other Denver Actors Fund beneficiaries here
The Denver Actors Fund has now made $705,000 available to Colorado theatre artists.
Note: At The Denver Actors Fund, anonymity of aid recipients is presumed and fully protected, unless and until the recipient chooses to have their story told.
INTRODUCING THE KINDNESS FUND:
The Denver Actors Fund has launched an innovative new emergency COVID relief fund – with a fun, humanitarian twist. The $65,000 KINDNESS Fund provides $100 monthly stipends to qualified Colorado theatre artists whose livelihoods have been impacted by the pandemic … when they perform a basic act of socially distanced kindness. Applications are being taken here.
ABOUT THE DENVER ACTORS FUND:
The Denver Actors Fund is a source of immediate, situational relief when members of the local theater community find themselves in medical need. In addition to $705,000 in financial relief, a team of more than 60 Denver Actors Fund volunteers have offered good neighborly assistance to more than 100 beneficiaries 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 MEDICAL AID:
To apply for Denver Actors Fund aid: Fill out this brief online form here
NEW: AFFORDABLE MENTAL HEALTH CARE
The Denver Actors Fund has announced a major new collaboration with the Maria Droste Counseling Center of Colorado to provide affordable, professional health care to any qualifying Colorado theatre artist who needs it. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION
GET INSTANT, FREE MEDICAL ADVICE: The Denver Actors Fund has launch of a major new FREE medical service for qualified Colorado theatre artists: We are partnering with Hippo Health to provide access to emergency medical evaluations via video conferencing with a Board-certified physician. Click to read more about this wonderful, innovative new partnership that will further improve the lives of artists!
MORE WAYS TO HELP:
DONATE ONLINE:
Go to our online giving site at: ColoradoGives.Org
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. It’s like the Amazon Smile Program. 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.
SUPPORT THE EVENTS THAT SUPPORT US:
AVAILABLE NOW: This year “Miscast,” the major annual fundraiser for The Denver Actors Fund, pivoted to “CAST 2020,” a professionally produced on-demand video concert featuring Colorado theatre artists performing in roles they WERE cast to play before the coronavirus shut down their shows. “CAST 2020” includes nearly a dozen showstopping songs by an all-star lineup of Colorado theatre performers:
- Rebecca Myers, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’
- Lisa Kay Carter and Seth Dhonou, Arvada Center’s ‘Something Rotten’
- Kalyn Heffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp with Michelle Rocqet, Phamaly Theatre Company’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’
- Scott Hurst, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse’s ‘Curtains’
- Mary Louise Lee, Vintage Theatre’s ‘Gypsy’
- McKayla Marso, BDT Stage’s ‘The Sound of Music’
- Cal Meakins, Forge Light Theatreworks’ ‘Bare: The Musical’
- Keith Hershman and Jessie Oblazny, Magic Moments’ ‘Take the High Road’
- Mercedes Perez, Lake Dillon Theatre’s ‘Man of La Mancha’
- Jenna Moll Reyes, Aurora Fox’s ‘Freaky Friday’
- Camryn Torres, Miners Alley Playhouse’s ‘Once on This Island’
For your donation of at least $20, you will be sent a link to the video within 24 hours. You can then watch the concert at your leisure. Reserve your link today
‘Miscast’ is the major annual fundraiser for The Denver Actors Fund. It produced each year by Robert Michael Sanders and Kenny Moten, with 100 percent of all proceeds going to The DAF. ‘CAST 2020’ was recorded primarily at Focus Event Studios in north Denver and edited by Ray Bailey TV. We are grateful to all of them for making this important event possible, and to you for watching.
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.
ONGOING: “Quarantine Week by Weak” is a new photographic coffee-table book by Susannah McLeod and her wife, Chloe McLeod, who chronicled their home life during the COVID19 shutdown with a light-hearteded photo series documenting their lives during quarantine. They produced more than 35 sets of humorous photos comparing the beginning of quarantine to later in the “stay-at-home” period. Susannah pulled out her camera and we started to play,” said Chloe McLeod. As popularity for the series grew on Instagram and after a feature in Westword, the couple started exploring options to publish the series as a book to benefit The Denver Actors Fund. To order, visit http://mcleod9creative.com/shop/quarantine-week-by-weak-photo-book. This project is generously sponsored by: The Albritton Family; Natalie Bowen and Jim Corbett; Dave Dyer; Julie Dyer; and Denise Gentilini and Lynette Prisner. Additional support provided by Angie Flachman and Sandy Birkey at The Publishing House and Sandra Lee Stuart.
VISIT OUR ONLINE MERCH STORE:
Click here to see how you can buy DAF products such as T-shirts, key chains, puzzles and much more.
