John K. V. Tammi
Professor of Theatre
Director

After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College, John attended the graduate program in theatre at the University of Minnesota with further study at the University of Stockholm (theatre history) and Southern Methodist University (directing). He has participated in several workshops and conferences, both domestic and in Europe, with an emphasis on voice and movement, American Theatre and directing.

John is the Founding Artistic Director of the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre (HSRT) and served several years as Director of Theatre for the Hope theatre department.

He has directed more than seventy productions at Hope. He worked with the Colonnades Theatre Lab in New York City and directed David Copperfield in The Magic Man in Chicago. John served as dramaturg for The New Harmony Project in New Harmony, Indiana (working with Linda Laven and Patricia Birch) on two occasions and was the dialect coach on two major motion pictures. While on a leave of absence from Hope in the 80s, John was Vice-President and Founding Producer/Director for Brilliance Corporation, a leading producer of audio books (now part of Amazon).

John has participated in the Kennedy Center/ American College Theatre Festival for more than thirty years and was awarded the Kennedy Center Medallion for his contributions to the success of that organization and educational theatre in general.

John leads the popular May Term in Ireland every spring. During his most recent sabbatical he returned to Finland to celebrate his newly regained Finnish citizenship. John teaches theatre history, directing and playwriting. He is the current faculty advisor to the Hope hockey team, campus representative for the New York Arts Program and is a member of the Park Theatre Board.  

Leisure pursuits