CREEDE, Colo. — If all the world’s a stage, like Shakespeare wrote, Creede is ready for the actors to take their places. The main street is set with cute, colorful buildings built during Colorado’s mining boom. The snow sparkles on the red rocks that loom over the tiny town.
“Creede is very remote,” said Ann Zarate, who splits her time between Creede and Austin, TX. “We’re at 9,000 feet, we’re up in the San Juan mountains, and we’re not close to anything—it’s very easy to come here and retreat and escape from reality.”
And a lot of tourists do just that. They come in the summer to spend time outdoors, catch a play or two at the Creede Repertory Theatre, or enjoy the massive Fourth of July celebration the town puts on every year. The businesses in town rely on summer visitors.
“In the summer there is a thriving tourist economy, and that’s when people make all their money,” Zarate said.
Then there are the winters. A walk through town in February shows a street lined with businesses with reduced winter hours, or closed altogether.
“This town shrinks in the wintertime to only between 200 and 400 people,” Zarate said. “The winter economy is sparse, it is a challenge, and the locals struggle to make ends meet.”
Susie Dicken, general manager at Kip’s Grill, said winters are very different than the bustling summers. She gets used to seeing the same locals at happy hour in the cold months.
“It’s pretty quiet,” Dicken said. “It’s just the locals.”
Zarate wanted to change that, and along with her husband Manuel Zarate, came up with a plan. They would invite playwrights from all over the country to participate in a retreat. It would give the writers a chance to take some time away from their busy lives, and it would bring new people into town who could contribute to the economy during the slow months.
The Zarates called it the National Winter Playwrights Retreat, and in the five years it has been around, it has made a clear mark on Creede’s winter economy. Zarate said last year, playwrights spent $50,000 during their time in Creede, much of which stays in town and circulates several times over.
“Here people count on us, they count on the artists to support them in the winter, and that’s really cool,” Zarate said.
Dicken over at Kip’s said the town notices a difference.
Great for the town, but this is also about the playwrights who come from all over to write, and get feedback on their scripts. Tramaine Brathwaite, from Atlanta, came to the retreat looking to finish a play she had set aside months ago. She said in just a few days being disconnected in Creede, the script was finally coming together. Cell phone reception is spotty—and distractions are few.
“It’s amazing, like for months I had nothing, and then I’ve been here two days, and I sat down and was like, ‘Ahhh, here’s some more stuff,” Brathwaite said. “When my time here is up in Creede, it’s going to be go, go, go, so I gotta find my own little Creede in Atlanta.”
Corey Atkins is a director who lives in Manhattan. He came to the retreat to finally collaborate face-to-face with a writer who lives in Minneapolis. He said this time was a gift for both of them.
“It’s really rare and special to have someone say, ‘We believe in your work, and in your vision, and we want to give you time and space that is for you to do whatever it is you want,’” Atkins said. “It’s nice to be in a place where the things that are tall and looming over you make you feel inspired, rather than oppressed.”
The National Winter Playwrights retreat is something the Zarates hope can work in other towns, looking for a boost in winter economy. They are hoping to expand the project.
“It’s changed the economy, and the locals know that, and they believe in us and they believe in what we’re doing,” Zarate said. “We hope to make a valuable difference in their lives and they, in turn, make a difference in the lives of the playwrights.”
To learn more about The National Winter Playwrights Retreat, and the HBMG Foundation, which funds the retreat, go the their website.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS | Storytellers from 9NEWS