TOTY | ‘I get to do the thing that I love’: Klassen reflects on time at Bethel
After receiving the Thresher of the Year award, Klassen reflects on his work in the Bethel theater department.
Note: For full Thresher of the Year content, pick up a copy of issue 12.
Theater at Bethel College has a long and celebrated history. A series of talented, dedicated professors of theater have made it possible for students to thrive on the stage. The most recent addition to that list of professors is Damon Klassen, who is the Bethel director of theater, general manager of KBCU-FM, and the 2024 Thresher of the Year.
Klassen is new to the role of director of theater, having served as the technical director of theater from 2017 until 2023. In the fall of 2023, Klassen stepped into his new role overseeing all of the theater department. In addition to managing and directing, Klassen teaches classes in the Communication Arts department.
Prior to teaching at Bethel, Klassen attended the college for two years from 1994 to 1996. He then went on to the University of Kansas, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Theater, and a German minor.
After graduating from KU, Klassen moved to Taos, N.M., where he was first the technical director, and then manager of the Taos Center for the Arts. Klassen stayed in New Mexico for 16 years, before deciding that it was time to move back to Kansas. “My wife and I are both from Kansas,” he said. “We decided it was time to move closer to [our] family.”
Once back in Newton, Klassen started working at Bethel as the technical director of theater, and shortly after, as Bethel’s audio-visual manager and general manager of KBCU, Bethel’s student-run radio station.
Klassen never expected to end up filling the role of director of theater at Bethel. “It was really a case of being in the right place at the right time,” he said. Without a graduate-level degree, “I didn’t really think it was a possibility for me.”
However, after talking to Bob Milliman, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the possibility arose. “I presented him with my 25-plus years of professional theater experience, which stood in for a higher degree,” Klassen said.
Although Klassen has only been in his new role for a short time, he has high hopes for the future. “I would love to grow the department. When I was a student here, we had a theater major. I would love to see that come back … but more immediately, I want to grow the department in-house” he said.
Along with general growth, Klassen hopes to emphasize the importance of increasing representation in the theater, saying, “I’m really hoping to grow the department in terms of diversity. It was nice this semester to have both a basketball player and a football player on the stage, which is not a common thing at Bethel.”
“I'm hoping that other athletes saw those athletes up there performing, and some of them maybe thought, ‘I wonder if I could do that.’ Also, trying to involve people of color … and just make it more diverse,” Klassen shared.
“Students,” Klassen said, “if you've ever had the slightest interest in being on stage … reach out to me or come to auditions. Just follow that instinct and see where it takes you.”
On being named Thresher of the Year, Klassen said, “Honestly, my first reaction is sort of ‘No, I don't deserve that…’ I was shocked by it. I was so surprised.”
In his first year in a new role, Klassen was surprised to be named Thresher of the Year. “It's all sort of brand new, you know, transitioning into this role. The shows have been really successful. The classes have gone fairly well. But yeah, I was shocked. I'm honored. I think it's fantastic.”
“It's all sort of brand new, you know, transitioning into this role. … But yeah, I was shocked. I'm honored. I think it's fantastic.”
Damon Klassen
“The only other thing I would say,” Klassen shared, “is that I honestly feel really lucky to have this job. I’m able to work with all these wonderful students in this community on this beautiful campus. And, I get to do the thing that I love, which is theater. So it’s a pretty sweet gig.”