Matthew A. Neves

Professional Information

Matt Neves is the Director of the M.F.A. Arts Administration program at Southern Utah University, where he has also served as the Associate Chair and Head of Theatre for the Theatre Arts and Dance Department.  Prior to SUU, he was the Associate Managing Director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.  Matt has graduate degrees in both Arts Administration  and Theatre Directing and he freelances as a professional director.  He frequently directs for the Neil Simon Festival and the Hale Center Theater in Utah.

Education

• Master of Business Administration in Arts Management, Illinois State University; Normal, Illinois
• Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing ,University of Exeter; Exeter, United Kingdom
• Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts (Directing/Acting), Brigham Young University; Provo, Utah

Educational Experience

Assistant Professor of Arts Administration, Southern Utah University; Cedar City, UT (2004- present)

• Teaching Assignments: Plan, prepare, and deliver lectures and experiential learning opportunities for graduate college students.  Courses taught include Principles of Arts Administration, Arts and Society/Government Relations, Marketing the Arts, Practices  and Principles of Arts Administration, Professional Projects, Professional Arts internship, Final Rotation Internship, Professional Capstone and First Year Seminar and Survey of Arts Administration (undergraduate courses).  Served on various university, college and department committees.

Director of Arts Administration Program, Southern Utah University; Cedar City, UT (2004- present)

• Duties include: actively creating and managing budgets, supervising management graduate assistants at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, recruiting students nationally, supervising staff and marketing/developing the program.

Course Instructor, School of Theatre Arts, Illinois State University; Normal, Illinois

• Responsibility (i.e., designing syllabi, preparing and delivering lectures, and composing evaluation measures) for Experiencing Theatre.

Professional Employment

Associate Managing Director, Illinois Shakespeare Festival; Bloomington, Illinois (2001-2004)

• Built and maintained $750,000 budget of a professional theater and helped to devise the master financial plan
• Developed fundraising program that increased individual gifts by 67%, also helped to begin an operating endowment campaign and increased corporate sponsorships
• Implemented a web-based ticketing system and restructured prices that led to a 32% increase in earned revenue
• Broke all-time attendance record (95% season capacity) by creating rush ticketing
• Worked with board of directors to form strong community relations and support
• Negotiated contracts with Actors’ Equity Association

Finance Manager, Welcome Home Loans; Bloomington, Illinois (2002-2005)
Performed all financial accounting for mortgage brokerage.

• Prepared Balance Sheets, Income Statements and other financial statements
• Presented executives with cost management proposals

Producer, Landmark Shakespeare Company; Exeter, United Kingdom
Established a touring theater company of American actors that performed works of Shakespeare among ruined British castles throughout southern England.

• Raised funds and maximized community donations to pay for 100% of housing and transportation costs
• Supervised marketing, public relations, and operations
• Created script and directed play

Casting Assistant, Manhattan Theatre Club; New York City, New York (1996-1997)
Assisted in casting numerous Off-Broadway plays.

• Developed casting procedures
• Negotiated with agents and Actors’ Equity Association
• Scheduled and facilitated auditions

Artistic Experience

Directing

Brighton Beach Memoirs*                     Director                       Neil Simon Festival

Fools*                                                       Director                       Neil Simon Festival

Saturday’s Warrior/The White Star      Director                       Omega Productions

• 35th anniversary professional tour

How to Succeed in Business…          Director                        Southern Utah University

Beyond The Horizon                            Director                       SUU/Hudson Guild Theatre, NYC

• Invited to perform Off-Broadway, toured full production.
• Regional Finalist, invited to regional Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival

You Can’t Take It With You                  Director                       Hale Center Theatre

• Among most successful comedies ever with 98% of tickets sold.

Lend Me a Tenor                                 Director                       Southern Utah University

• Nominated for Regional Invitation to KC/ACTF.

Chapter Two*                                      Director                       Neil Simon Festival

Among The Ruins                             DirectorLandmark Shakespeare Co., U.K.

• England national tour performed in ruined castles.

King John                                           Director                       Brigham Young University

Brigadoon                                           Director                      SCERA Shell Theater

Born Yesterday                                  Director                      Hale Center Theater                 

Steel Magnolias                                 Director                      SCERA Shell Theater

George Washington Slept Here     Director                      Hale Center Theater

The King and I                                   Asst Director             SCERA Shell Theater

West Side Story                                 Asst Director             SCERA Shell Theater

Hello Dolly                                          Asst Director             SCERA Shell Theater

A Woman of No Importance           Director                      Nelke Theater   

Overruled                                            Director                      Nelke Theater

Acting

Merchant of Venice*                           Antonio (u/s)              Utah Shakespearean Festival
                                                                                                            J.R. Sullivan, Director

Christmas Carol: On the Air*            Freddie/Orville           Utah Shakespearean Festival
                                                                                                            Brad Carroll, Director

Romeo and Juliet                               Tybalt                          Brigham Young University

Camelot                                               Mordred                       SCERA Shell Theater
                                                                                                            with Robert Peterson

Fiddler on the Roof                            Motel                           SCERA Shell Theater

Little Shop of Horrors                        Mushnik                     Utah Valley State College

West Side Story                                 Doc                              SCERA Shell Theater

A Midsummer Night’s Dream         Demetrius                   Utah Valley State College

Macbeth                                              Seyton                         Brigham Young University

Moon Over Buffalo                            Howard                       Players Theater

Renaissance Farce                          Bentley                        Roborough Studio Theatre

The Diviners                                      Dewey                         Utah Valley State College

Woman in Mind                                 Rick                             Brigham Young University

King and I                                           Ensemble                  SCERA Shell Theater

Hired Man                                           Ensemble                  Brigham Young University

Tapestry (International Tour)          Ensemble                  BYU Young Ambassadors

* Actor's Equity Association Productions

Scholarly / Creative Activity

2006/2007 Academic Year

• Arts Management Consultant / Lead Festival Host
• Directed all arts management activities for Region VIII on Southern Utah University campus, February 2006 to February 2007.  Duties included:
• Personnel Management of over 210 staff and volunteers
• Website Design and Maintenance
• Facilities Management
• Hospitality and Transportation
• Financial Management
• KCACTF is a national organization that invites participants from its regional festivals to a national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
• Arts Management Consultant
• Presented Development plan to the St. George Musical Theater Board of Directors, July 2007.
• Consulted on HR management, development activities and marketing initiatives with the Executive Director of St. George Musical Theatre, July 2007.
• Producer
• SUU’s Beyond the Horizon at Hudson Guild Theatre, NYC, March 2007.
• Supervised student producers to:
• raise $54,000 in six weeks from businesses, individuals and university entities.
• market, publicize and promote the production in Cedar City and New York City.
• manage the company of actors, faculty, students producers and technicians.
• create workshops, seminars and other learning activities in NYC.
• Director
• SUU production of Eugene O’Neill’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Beyond the Horizon, November 2006.
• Production was chosen as a regional finalist for ACTF.
• Remounted production for ACTF, February 2007.
• Production was invited to tour to an Off-Broadway theatre in New York City by Handcart Ensemble, a NYC based theatre company focused on reviving literary masterworks.
• Hale Center Theatre production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, You Can’t Take It With You in Provo, UT, July 2006.
• Actor
• Played Freddie and other roles in the Utah Shakespearean Festival production of “A Christmas Carol: On the Air”, December 2006
• Understudied the role of Antonio in the Utah Shakespearean Festival production of “The Merchant of Venice”, Fall 2006.
• Managed the process of the MFA program becoming a full member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators, June 2007.
• Invited Respondent/Adjudicator for the USF/SUU High School Shakespeare Competition, October 2006.
• Invited Guest Workshop Leader for the Utah Youth Theatre Association, May, 2007.
• Presented “Acting through the Globe: a study in Elizabethan acting” at the Tuachan Summer Institute, July, 2006.
• Supervised MFA students in the marketing of a play for Plan-B Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Performances occurred Off-Broadway in NYC and in San Francisco, CA, Spring 2007.
• Invited Respondent/Adjudicator for the State High School Drama One-Act Play Competition, April, 2007.

2005/2006 Academic Year

• Arts Management Consultant/ Lead Festival Host
• Directed all arts management activities for Region VIII on Southern Utah University campus, February 2005 to February 2006.  Duties included:
• Personnel Management of over 210 staff and volunteers
• Website Design and Maintenance
• Facilities Management
• Hospitality and Transportation
• Financial Management
• KCACTF is a national organization that invites participants from its regional festivals to a national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
• Director
• Southern Utah University production of the comedy, Lend Me a Tenor, September 2005
• Hale Center Theatre production of the Pulitzer Prize winning You Can’t Take It With You in Provo, UT, July 2006
• Actor
• Utah Shakespearean Festival production of “Christmas Carol: On the Air” December 2005
• Conducted research to begin writing a book that will act as a manual to run a Regional American College Theater Festival.  Some of the research activities:
• Survey of Participants at a regional ACTF
• Development of job descriptions
• Submitted a proposal to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for funding support
• Helped to develop Standards of Competency in the Teaching of Strategic Planning for the Association of Arts Administration Educators, April 2006.
• Invited Respondent/Adjudicator for the USF/SUU High School Shakespeare Competition, October 2005.
• Invited Guest Workshop Leader for the Utah Youth Theatre Association, May, 2006.

2004/2005 Academic Year

• Arts Management Consultant/ Lead Festival Coordinator
• Directed all arts management activities for the largest American College Theater Festival in the United States, Region III in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, August 2004 to January 2005.  Duties included:
• Personnel Management of over 65 staff and volunteers
• Website Design and Maintenance
• Facilities Management
• Hospitality and Transportation
• Financial Management
• KCACTF is a national organization that invites participants from its regional festivals to a national festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
• Director
• Neil Simon Festival production of “Chapter Two” in Cedar City, UT, July 2005
• Aided in writing standards of excellence for AAAE
• Awarded a SUU Faculty Development Grant to participate in Orchestra Essentials at the American Symphony Orchestra League in New York City, January 2005.  This focused seminar covers all areas of Arts Management in today’s orchestras. Acted as the Operations Manager in Orchestra Boards simulations at the seminar.
• Helped to develop Standards of Competency in the Teaching of Strategic Planning for the Association of Arts Administration Educators, April 2005.
• Invited Respondent/Adjudicator for the USF/SUU High School Shakespeare Competition, October 2004.
• Invited Respondent/Adjudicator for the State High School Drama Competition, April, 2005.

Committee Membership / Board Services

Program Committees

• Chair, MFA Marketing and Recruitment Committee
• Chair, MFA Capstone Committee
• Chair, MFA Mid-Program Review Committee

Department Committees

• Associate Chair, Theatre Arts and Dance Department
• Department Curriculum Committee
• Department Faculty Search Committee (Acting)
• Department Faculty Search Committee (Design)
• Department Production Selection Committee
• Department BFA Committee
• Conducted Undergraduate Juries
• Capstone Evaluator

College Committees

• CPVA Marketing Committee
• CPVA Institutional Review Board
• CPVA Curriculum Committee

University Committes / Service

• SUU Faculty Development and Evaluation Committee
• SUU Graduate Handbook Committee
• SUU Graduate Curriculum Committee
• SUU Institutional Review Board
• SUU Graduate Council
• SUU Presidential Search, Faculty Committee
• Search Committee (Director of the Masters of Forensic Science)

Professional Committees / Services

• Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival Region VIII Board
• Utah Theatre Association Board
• Case Studies Committee, Association of Arts Administration Educators

| Matthew A. Neves |