“This story really goes back to God doesn’t make mistakes,” laughed John Klonowski, associate professor of theatre at Union, leaning back in his chair. His office is pretty bare, nothing but some bookshelves lined with a few plays and some chairs in the corner, but his voice and passion fill the empty space.
“My wife and I–we did the whole L.A. thing, trying to break into the T.V. and film industry. I mean, we both worked at Universal, so it was a great experience,” said Klonowski. “But it was just time, the Lord was leading us out. And I got a job at Bethel, in West Tennessee of all places.”
Just in the hour I spent talking with him, I learned that he cares about a lot of things: acting, students, set designing, but he also greatly values community and his role in building it.
“Pretty quickly after I got to Bethel, I decided I wanted to reach out to other professors in the area, just to say let’s be a resource and connect, especially since I was a newbie college professor,” said Klonowski. “I got as far as Union, and I saw a picture of David Burke on their website.”
As he and his wife were at a play in the Ned, Klonowski continued, they noticed a man in front of their seat with white hair and instantly recognized him from the picture he had seen only a few days before.
“I tap him on the shoulder and say, ‘Are you by any chance David Burke?’ and he turns around and says, ‘Oh, are you by any chance John Klonowski? I just saw your picture the other day.’ And I said, ‘I just saw your picture the other day too.’ And so, we both just stared at each other for like 5 seconds and then of course, our wives start talking, and it just formed from there,” Klonowski recounted.
Three years into Klonowski’s Bethel career, a position opened up in the theatre program, and Burke offered it to him. After much prayer and calling from the Lord, Klonowski accepted.
2013 was the year Klonowski stepped foot on Union’s campus as a new faculty member. He remembers the feeling of the campus being saturated with people pursuing Christ, a welcome difference from his previous work experiences. Although he didn’t know how exactly he would be used at Union, he felt compelled by the sweet spirit of the school and the gentle guidance of the Lord.
But Klonowski knew from the start that the legendary David Burke had plans to retire soon and that he would be groomed to be the next to step into the spotlight as director of the theatre program. After working alongside Klonowski to develop some of the program’s most exceptional productions, Burke retired by putting on his sentimental last show, “Brigadoon,” in the spring of 2019, handing over the keys to the program after a solid 34 year run at the university.
If you have attended any of the Union Theatre productions like the infamous “Frankenstein,” “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” or Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” then you may have unknowingly been exposed to some of Klonowski’s directorial work.
This semester begins year seven for him as a professor at Union University, but this particular year marks a milestone in his career. Now Klonowski occupies Jennings 307 and is director of the theatre program which is comprised of only six majors. While this number seems unintimidating, Klonowski has plans.
“I consider myself a visionary,” Klonowski said. “I’m not really strong in the implementation of things…that’s more my wife. But when we come together as a team, things happen.”
Klonowski’s wife, Kristin, also works at Union as a voice and diction instructor, and helps a lot behind the scenes.
“Theatre always has a struggle, no matter where it is,” Klonowski said. “I mean, there are some good community and local theaters around West Tennessee, but for major productions, you have to go to Memphis or Nashville. And so, I feel that we have the opportunity, also as an educational institution, to be a resource to the community. And that’s where I really want to see us as a program go.”
Klonowski has made good on his promise by working with local high school theatre programs, donating equipment and costumes, collaborating with Union theatre alums, and making acting and theatre programs available to the general public.
“We have such few majors—it’s the smallest it’s ever been since I’ve been here. So, it’s time to rebuild. And I think God was telling me at the end of last semester as you’re moving forward, ‘just be faithful with a little,'” said Klonowski. “So, we cut one of our Fall shows and also kid’s theatre, which doesn’t sound good, but it’s actually really good. Until we can make everything that we’re doing excellent, let’s not overwhelm ourselves with too much.”
Like Klonowski said, rebuilding a program while simultaneously doing community outreach is a big undertaking and requires patience and time. But he hopes to have the community/Union theatre programs put on their first big, full length production by spring of 2021.
Along with community work, Klonowski wants to provide his students with a multitude of opportunities and experiences, while also building their resume. This comes with community involvement, but also in the form of Second Act Theatre Company—an outreach group of 15 students from any major that perform for and make themselves available as a resource to local churches and youth groups.
Not only does this provide extra theatre practice, but it allows students to gain some experience as directors, since two students typically hold a leadership position in the group. Now in its third year, the Second Act Theatre Company seeks to entertain with excellence while promoting Christ, and they have booked events at Donnell Century Farm and potential senior citizen homes.
But Klonowski also has his sights set on development within the campus grounds. He has plans to create new classes alongside his wife, like an on-camera acting class, and hopefully to bring in people like John Kinchen, chairman of the department of music, to work on the musical theatre side of the program as well.
“All of these things are in the works,” Klonowski said. “There’s a lot of great things happening, and a lot of potential. To achieve excellence, you face the hard things and take it slowly. Ultimately, I want my students to learn theatre here, of course, but I also want them to go out there and be influencers for the Kingdom. I want them to be in the other places that are hard to get into and just love people—to be the salt and light.”
Photo courtesy of Nick Gutierrez
