A Letter from Our President

Thank you for taking time to visit our site and learn more about Inspire Creative.   We are a unique blend of individual artists, performers, professionals, and amateurs that share a common thread.  We not only enjoy the creative and the artistic in the world that surrounds us, but we have all felt a deeper desire to be a part of creating. Whether we discovered this yearning while we were still young, or perhaps later in life we have all felt that desire to be active in the creative process and have responded. 

Inspire Creative is an artist led organization.  One key mission is to create places where creativity can happen.  Where an idea can be given time, energy, and resources to grow.  It isn’t always successful, and it definitely isn’t always neat and clean, but it is fun and rewarding.  Another key of who we are is a personal mission of mine and that is to make it matter.  Too often, creative people live within a stereotype that they are irresponsible, over-emotive, and unable to be productive in society.  In my experience I have found that isn’t the whole picture.  Creative and artistic people tend to be some of most gregarious, generous, and trusting individuals there are.  They are moved by the secret and profound things in life and when given opportunity can create things that change the way we experience this life.  That is why Inspire Creative is constantly looking for ways to make it matter.  Whether we are touching the lives of children overseas, or those who are here at home, Inspire Creative works towards providing opportunities for artists, both young and old, to make a difference. 

Lastly, I want to invite you to be a part of Inspire Creative.  As a young organization we are constantly bringing new programs and ideas to the surface.  There are many opportunities for you to be involved.  Whether you are interested in auditioning for an upcoming show, or getting involved in one of our training or performance programs the invitation is always the same – “Come play with Us”

Live Creatively! Ralph Neumann

Ralph Neumann, Executive Director - Founder

A Colorado native, Ralph studied music with an emphasis in piano
at the College of Music, University of Colorado with world-renowned emeritus piano professor Robert Spillman.  His experience includes
live performance, composition and orchestration as well as extensive training in related software programs. He has worked on projects for Viacom, Polaris, Jeff Smith and Discovery Zone. Ralph is a member of CITA, BMI and ICVM. He has performed for a former Senator and with Steven Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash. He has also worked with songwriter Steven Allen Davis. Ralph has a deep understanding of the artist’s heart and temperament, their need to belong and be released to create in their areas of strength. Ralph is presently a composer and music score specialist for his company Oak Tree Music. He has been a piano and vocal instructor in the community for several years. He served as Worship Pastor at Fellowship Community Church for twenty years, during which the Worship Arts Ministry produced over 30 dramatic and musical productions, including Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, The Sound of Music and It’s A Wonderful Life.  He coauthored The Love Liner with Jeff Smith for Lillenas Publishing. He now serves as Worship and Arts Pastor at Crossroads Community Church.  Ralph has a vision and desire to develop artists through relationship, training, and community.

Gary Lewis, Artistic Director - Founder

Originally from Denver, Gary’s training in and passion for the dramatic arts began in high school and played a key role in who he is today. He joined the National Thespian Society and has directed drama in several community churches. He believes the arts go past the defenses the intellect can raise and affect the heart, changing the way one looks at life. His goal for the last twenty years has been to touch hearts through drama. He directed several productions for Fellowship Community Theatre; a legacy of over twenty shows including Fiddler On The Roof, Godspell, The Music Man, and The Sound of Music. He has collaborated with Jeff Smith, actor and published playwright. Gary graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He brings compassion, energy and inspiration to all of the performances he directs. He is a person of integrity and genuine, heart-felt faith. His family is the love of his life and he balances professionalism with encouragement, using gentle truth in order to edify people around him. He loves the rehearsal process as a way to develop very special relationships with everyone involved. Working with actors to help them discover their characters and how they fit within the play structure is very rewarding for Gary. He does not believe in telling them how to play a character, but instead he coaches, mentors and challenges them to discover the characters for themselves. In his view, all individuals in a production are valuable so he tries to pass this view onto participants. According to Gary, the performances are the frosting on the cake because when it’s show time, he feels proud of each person’s growth. These qualities have equipped him to be Inspire Creative's Artistic Director.

Liane Adamo - Dance/Choreography Director

Liane’s interest in live audience performance began in high school where she was involved in choir and musical theater. These experiences led her to Colorado State University where she majored in Performing Arts with a concentration in Dance. Her studies included Social Dancing, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Musical Theatre and Choreography. Liane began her professional career as a member of the Denver Contemporary Dance Theatre Company and then shifted her focus to instruction at the university level and at private dance studios. While she still enjoys participating in live performances Liane discovered her true passion is to blend her professional dance training and choreography skills with musical theater to enhance overall performance quality. Liane has always dreamed of opening a dance studio where she can apply those concepts. That dream will be realized when she and Inspire Creative launch the Inspire Movement dance school in January 2011 which will encompass Zumba (dance fitness), Introductory to Dance, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Social Dancing and more.

Denise Miller - Staff Accountant

Denise has been working with the team that is now Inspire Creative for the past 11 years. She has served as Production Assistant and Stage Manager and has exceptional skill in thinking of and taking care of all the details necessary to run both Inspire Creative and our productions. She is a stay-at-home mom but has a professional background as an administrative assistant and has put those skills to use, recently becoming the staff accountant for the company.

Debbie Miller - IT/Website

Debbie has an extensive background in music performance and direction and has been part of Inspire Creative since it began. She has been working with our production teams for over eight years. She brings great technical expertise both to productions and to keeping our website updated, which is a time consuming task with all the exciting things happening within Inspire.

Christian Paetsch - Lead Instructor, Band & Orchestra Program

Christian Paetsch is a native of Colorado, has been studying music for the majority of his life. Since a very young age he has played in many of the orchestras up and down the front range from Pueblo to Wyoming. After receiving Performance and Education degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, Mr. Paetsch has gone on to perform, teach, and direct throughout the Denver/Colorado Springs area. He has taught in the Cherry Creek and Aurora School districts and is currently teaching in the Douglas County School District. He is also the founder and director of orchestras at the Western Academy of Music. Mr. Paetsch has produced and directed numerous productions for the stage, tours, and ice shows. He has also been teaching privately for the past 14 years in Aurora/Centennial and has been aiding many of the local schools in continuing their music programs and classes.

Amy Osatinski – Summer Educational Programming

Amy Osatinski has been working with Inspire Creative since the summer of 2008. Amy is a local high school Theatre teacher and holds a masters degree in education in addition to a degree in theatre. Amy has also been performing as an actor and a singer for over twenty years. Amy works on Inspire Creative's summer educational programming. She also has directed shows and most recently directed You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown and serves as a technical and artistic resource for the company. Amy's students have also built the sets for several of Inspire's productions, which benefits both the company and her students.

Tanner Kelly – Assistant / Music Director

Tanner is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance with a musical theater emphasis from the University of Denver's Lamont school of Music. He has performed all over Colorado including shows at The Country Dinner Playhouse, Littleton Town Hall, The Mizel, Creative Expressions Studios, Parker Mainstreet Center, The Academy of Theatre Arts and The Newman Center. For Inspire he has performed in 8 productions including roles such as Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls, Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, and Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof. He taught at Inspire's summer camp "Broadway Your Way," was a vocal coach for Inspire's Youth Chorale, has assistant directed You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, and Music Man, Jr. Tanner is an AP Scholar, a member of the National Thespian Society, the tenor in The Candlelight Singers and has performed around Colorado in chorale pieces including Dvorak's Mass in D, Borodin's Polavetzian Dances, Britten's Blessed Cecilia, and has had the pleasure of singing with groups such as All State Mixed Choir 2008, All State Men's Choir 2007, The Colorado Korean Choir, Littleton Chorale and was ranked 1st place in musical theater singing in the 2010 national association of teachers of singers competition for Colorado/Wyoming.

Dave Priboth - Advisory Panel / Business Development

David has been associated with community theatre for more than 17 years, 7 years in Kansas City, 8 years in Vail Colorado, and 3 years in the Denver area. In that time he has appeared in principal roles in more than thirty shows. He has sung with both amateur and professional choral groups throughout his life. In Kansas City, he served on the Advisory Board for Theatre in the Park for 4 years, 2 as its president and was instrumental in guiding a $1.2 million upgrading of the theatre facilities. In Vail, he was on the board of the Vail Valley Theatre Company, directed the Valley Community Chorus as well as 2 church choirs. He originated, produced and directed An Evening On Broadway for the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts in Beaver Creek. His focus has always been on improving the marketability of community theatre.

Matt Wessel - Graphic Design

Matt has has been with Inspire Creative for the past three shows. Joining for our Broadway review and then moving on to play Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls and the Linus, in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Matt has been assisting with small parts as needed for our children’s program and our upcoming Christmas production.

Matt is also our creative designer for all of our promotional material and programs. Matt holds a BFA in fine arts and Animation from the Rocky mountain college of art and Design, as well as an advanced certification in Character animation from Animation Mentor, a premiere animation program in partnership with the leading animation studios.

Rosemary Smith – Youth Ensemble / Costume Coordinator

Rosemary Smith has a BS in Music Education, has taught elementary school music and art and has directed several adult choirs in the Chicago and Denver area. Rosemary is the current Choir Director for the Douglas County after school Music program which has 60 plus students in 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th grades at Iron Horse Elementary School. She will also begin directing the Inspire Youth Chorale open to ages 8 -13 in January of 2011. In addition, Rosemary has a home based Parker business; RMS Creations for costumes, catering and party coordination. She has been Inspire Creative’s costume coordinator for the past 5 years, and has created a costume rental program which provides other local and non-profit organizations a low cost alternative to theatrical costuming.

Ron Troester – Musical Director

Ron Troester has recently become involved in the theater scene in Denver, having served as music director for The Enlightenment with CSL Denver, The Wild Party with Gravity Defied Theatre, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown with Inspire Creative, and pianist for Oklahoma! with Performance Now. Ron has a masters degree in choral music and education from Nebraska, where he was a high school/college music instructor for 25 years before becoming a professional church musician, currently developing a music program as the music director at the Center for Spiritual Living in downtown Denver. He has been a voice/choir/show choir adjudicator and clinician for 5 midwestern states, and has been involved as a choreographer/producer/performer/director for over 40 musical theater productions during his career. Ron serves as the Heritage High School accompanist in Littleton, operates a voice/piano studio in Evergreen, and sings with the Evergreen Chorale. His goals are to create a positive musical performance experience for musicians young and old, developing their skills to be the best they can be!

Bethany Wessel – Inspire Kids Musical Director

Bethany Wessel has been working as a professional musician and music teacher for over ten years. She has a music education degree with an emphasis in vocal performance from Colorado State University at Pueblo. Bethany currently works for Douglas County School District as the choir and music director for Trailblazer Elementary and also runs her own private voice and piano studio. She has taught beginning band within Douglas County schools and has also served as a Solo and Ensemble vocalist judge for the last six years. Bethany is also a performer and enjoys participating in community theater and singing and playing for weddings and other events. Recently she was the vocal director for Inspire Creative's Music Man, Jr., the first ever children's theatrical performance put on by the company.

Tim Fuchs – Technical Lead

Tim Fuchs has an extensive technical background and is currently employed as a technical Support Analyst for a large global storage company. He has brought that technical expertise to the Technical Team for Inspire Creative. He has performed a variety of roles to include Technical Director, sound technician, wireless microphone setup, frequency scanning and troubleshooting, lighting design and layout, graphic design and projection, special effects ( to include fog, lightening, black light, snow, and special effect rigging). He has worked with the core leadership team of Inspire Creative for over eleven years and thirty different productions.

Ed Kern – Technical Lead

Ed Kern has over 30 years of Audio & Video experience. Starting in the 70s when he toured with groups at age 17 as the multi-media technician to the 80s when he worked in television as a remote unit production manager. Ed was responsible for a 12 man rental crew that specialized in stage productions for large corporations, Conventions and trade shows. In the mid 90’s Ed started his own AV company in Denver called Behind the Scenes. The company specialized in staging and custom AV installations for the corporate, church and school markets. In 2010 Ed sold his company to CCS who is one of the top 10 system AV integrators in the country. Ed Kern is the System design engineer for the Denver office. Ed’s unique history of Theater, Television and FOH sound gives him a unique blend of skills and experience not often found in the technical world.