Career change bears fruit for 'Grapes of Wrath' actor
A lot of people are starting second careers these days. John Zimmerman of Carol Stream left journalism for two careers: teaching and theater.
By day, Zimmerman teaches special education in the DuPage County vision program at Willowbrook High School. At night, he acts -- and is currently appearing in Infamous Commonwealth Theater's production of "The Grapes of Wrath" in Chicago.
"I had been in journalism for more than 20 years," Zimmerman says. "Twenty years for the Daily Herald and before that five years at the Hammond Times."
Zimmerman, who most recently worked as the Daily Herald's editorial page editor, admits he loved writing. He still misses working for a newspaper, especially during election season when the editorial page heats up. But in his mid-50s, Zimmerman felt a tug to take his life in another direction.
"An opportunity to work with children with vision impairment came up," Zimmerman says. He couldn't turn it down.
At the same time, what began as a weekend and evening pursuit - appearing in community theater productions - also began to heat up, as Zimmerman landed acting gigs in larger, more significant local theaters.
"I dabbled a little in theater in college," he says. But it wasn't until many years after college, in 1999, that Zimmerman returned to acting.
He was looking for something to do and saw an audition notice for "Light up the Sky." He decided to try out.
"I surprised myself," Zimmerman said. "I did better than I thought and landed a role in the play."
Since then acting has been a regular part of his life.
Zimmerman currently appears in Infamous Commonwealth Theater's revival of Frank Galati's award-winning adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." He plays Grandpa and a variety of other roles throughout the play, which chronicles the migration of one family, forced off their land by the 1930s dust bowl, from Oklahoma to California.
To prepare for the role, Zimmerman and the rest of the cast for this ensemble-based play looked at slides of the dust bowl "to understand what people went through at the time." He also reviewed the classic 1940 film starring Henry Fonda.
• "The Grapes of Wrath" runs April 25 through May 24 at the West Stage of the Raven Theatre Complex, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. For tickets call (312) 458-9780.