{"id":806230,"date":"2020-04-09T12:04:18","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=380919"},"modified":"2020-04-09T12:04:18","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:04:18","slug":"new-breckcreate-ceo-talks-about-his-love-of-theater-and-the-organizations-role-in-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/new-breckcreate-ceo-talks-about-his-love-of-theater-and-the-organizations-role-in-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"New BreckCreate CEO talks about his love of theater and the organization\u2019s role in the community"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"819\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-1024x819.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-2-2048x1638.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Breckenridge Creative Arts CEO Matt Neufeld is pictured March 12 the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Matt Neufeld saw 20-ton blocks of snow outside his window on his second day of work at Breckenridge Creative Arts. The new president and CEO of the nonprofit officially joined in January in the midst of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-high-school-student-competes-at-30th-international-snow-sculpture-championships-in-breckenridge\/\">International Snow Sculpture Championships<\/a> after Robb Woulfe <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/president-and-ceo-of-breckenridge-creative-arts-to-step-down-july-1\/\">stepped down in July<\/a> to peruse other projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just been a great ride since (January),\u201d Neufeld said in March. \u201cThere\u2019s incredible potential, and I\u2019ve encountered an incredible openness and willingness to explore and think about what we can do, both within the organization and also throughout the community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe feeling of welcomeness and inclusion hit me right from the get-go. \u2026 You have the best of both worlds. You have this wonderful small town, because we are a small town, and we have this incredibly diverse, broader community that feels almost equally invested.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neufeld is only the second to helm the organization that was founded in 2014. Also called BreckCreate, it is the driving force behind festivals such as WAVE: Light + Water + Sound and the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts, along with smaller exhibitions and workshops that involve hands-on activities like ceramics or woodworking.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Neufeld had been to Breckenridge only once before <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-creative-arts-names-new-ceo\/\">getting the job,<\/a> but he fell in love with the place instantly, he said. He and his wife came in the summer two years ago to hike in the surrounding mountains and enjoyed the weather better than the humid climate in his old home of St. Louis, Missouri. It\u2019s where he grew up and where he lived most recently, but in between, Neufeld also studied and worked on the East Coast in New York and Connecticut.<\/p>\n<p>Neufeld was bit by the acting bug at an impressionable age after seeing an unique production of \u201cBeowulf\u201d that had a rotating pyramid-shaped set. \u201cIt would turn on its side, and all of a sudden, you\u2019re in the great hall. Then it\u2019s turned upside down, and they\u2019re slow motion fighting with quarterstaffs. \u2026 It was incredible.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Since then, he wanted to bring that same feeling to others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe arts hit you; they hit you right here,\u201d Neufeld said, gesturing at his heart. \u201cA good artistic experience, you should feel something. Hopefully, it\u2019s something that moves you positively. I\u2019d rather have it move you negatively than just indifference. \u2026&nbsp;I think we could make a smart arts experience that activates both your mind and heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a year at the University of Kansas, he went to conservatory at New York University and also studied abroad in Dublin. Yet he wasn\u2019t fond of memorizing lines, preferring the freeform nature of improvisation, and he transitioned to directing and producing new plays with a theater company he created with fellow alumni. Around the same time, he became involved with the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howlarts.org\/howl-festival\/\" target=\"_blank\">Howl! Festival<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> in Manhattan\u2019s East Village. It exposed him to the world of permitting, logistics, communications, accounting and other disciplines not taught in acting school as he worked to set up various street fairs.<\/p>\n<p>Neufeld enjoyed it but found it and consulting with other projects exhausting, and he wished to be at just one organization, like the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hartfordstage.org\" target=\"_blank\">Hartford Stage<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> regional theater in Connecticut. Over three years there, he was part of a capital endowment campaign, adult improv program and theater renovation in addition to working with a board of about 60 members.<\/p>\n<p>He then became the managing director of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.metroplays.org\" target=\"_blank\">Metro Theater Co<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>. in St. Louis. The theater specializes in family- and youth-oriented programming, and Neufeld used the arts to discuss STEM, anti-bullying, public health and more. For instance, they turned the play <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/cassiusproject.com\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cIn This Corner \u2026 Cassius Clay,\u201d<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> into a platform to discuss race relations during the time of Michael Brown\u2019s death in Ferguson, Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver five weeks, we had 10,000 people come see the show, and three out of every four of them was a young person,\u201d Neufeld said. \u201cSo when I think about what opportunities are presented within an organization like BreckCreate, where we have incredible artists on staff and amazing resident companies that live and work in our spaces and a broader, nonarts community that really wants to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eventually he returned to consulting but realized he wanted to be back at a larger organization, which led him to apply for the BreckCreate job. He sees the administrative role as a form of directing and doesn\u2019t really miss the stage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of it is all about getting the right people in the room \u2014 the right artists, the right collaborators, whatever that is,\u201d Neufeld said.<\/p>\n<p>Neufeld is fortunate that BreckCreate was a healthy and stable organization when he joined. Instead of righting a doomed ship about to hit an iceberg, his first major task was facilitating <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/breckenridge-creative-arts-and-breckenridge-music-set-to-merge\/\">the absorption of Breckenridge Music under the BreckCreate umbrella<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the perfect time for our organization to have a moment to check in and say, \u2018Here\u2019s what we accomplished. What do we want to do next?\u201d Neufeld said. \u201cWhere do we think we want to go, and what\u2019s our role as an arts organization and arts leader in the region?\u2019 That\u2019s a conversation I was really exited to have, and we are having with the new organization board. \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to be said about the current mission and ethos of this current organization, so I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s going to change drastically.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He has some ideas for new and interesting projects, but Neufeld is keeping them close to his chest for now as he doesn\u2019t want to change too much too quickly. Rather, he is taking time to meet government officials, local artists and other community members \u2014 even taking field trips early in the year to check out the Lake Dillon Theatre Co. or Dillon Amphitheater \u2014 to learn how BreckCreate can better serve the town as a whole.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-380931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/Neufeld-SDN-032720-3-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Neufeld at the Woven Spaces exhibit March 12 at the Old Masonic Hall in Breckenridge.<\/strong><br \/><em>Liz Copan \/ <a href=\"mailto:ecopan@summitdaily.com\">ecopan@summitdaily.com<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cYou want to respect and honor the work that has happened because there has been some really good work, but I think any time you have a new leader come into the organization, that\u2019s an opportunity to test these values and really look at the direction we want to go,\u201d Neufeld said.<\/p>\n<p>Some values that Neufeld wants to focus on are community involvement \u2014 such as the collaborative <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/an-interwoven-community-craig-walsh-and-hiromi-tangos-woven-spaces-creates-a-healing-hub-in-breckenridge\/https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/an-interwoven-community-craig-walsh-and-hiromi-tangos-woven-spaces-creates-a-healing-hub-in-breckenridge\/\">\u201cWoven Spaces\u201d exhibit<\/a> that is constantly evolving through participation \u2014 education and tapping into Coloradan\u2019s love of sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we were going to implement (environmental) change based solely on logic and facts, we probably would have done that 30 years ago,\u201d Neufeld said. \u201cThere\u2019s always obstacles that have stopped us as a nation from embracing some of these changes, but if you want to look at social and behavioral change, I think that\u2019s where the artist\u2019s tools come into play because they help tell that story in a way people can understand and feel the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last May, Woulfe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/everything-summit\/breckcreate-adjusts-mission-to-enhance-arts-for-locals-over-driving-tourism\/\">discussed the organization switching its mission<\/a> to prioritize classes and activities for residents over crowd-drawing events, but Neufeld isn\u2019t nixing festivals right out of the gate. Visiting artists and commissions for this season\u2019s upcoming shows were previously locked down by Woulfe, and Neufeld is now planning for 2021\u2019s festivals and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t see it being one end of the spectrum or the other,\u201d Neufeld said, adding that he hopes people will plan their trips to the mountains around future festivals while giving locals a way to engage with the arts.&nbsp;&nbsp;\u201c\u2026 There\u2019s a mix, and I think if we do it right, they feed one another.&nbsp;Finding where that balance is is what we\u2019re going to work on and what I\u2019m going to work on for the next couple of years.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So far, WAVE and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breckcreate.org\/covid-19-update\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">events through the end of April<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> are canceled because of the novel coronavirus. The Breckenridge International Festival of Arts is still scheduled for late June and August. Visit <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"BreckCreate.org (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/BreckCreate.org\" target=\"_blank\">BreckCreate.org<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> to stay up to date on cancellations.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/new-breckcreate-ceo-talks-about-his-love-of-theater-and-the-organizations-role-in-the-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Breckenridge Creative Arts CEO Matt Neufeld is pictured March 12 the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge.Liz Copan \/ ecopan@summitdaily.com BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 Matt Neufeld saw 20-ton blocks of snow outside his window on his second day of work at Breckenridge Creative Arts. The new president and CEO of the nonprofit officially joined in January in the midst [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-16 17:06:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}