With great heartache, the Salem State University Theatre and Speech community mourns the loss of our department chairperson, fearless leader, and dear friend Professor Jerry L. Johnson.

A tenured professor of costume and scenic design, who led our department from 2020-2024, Professor Johnson lived his values of collaborative generosity and artistic excellence in creative scholarship. He represented the best of who we are and who we want to become, here at Salem State Theatre.

An avid world traveler, he frequently hopped flights home to spend time with his family in rural Mississippi, then back to Massachusetts for work. He flew to New York to shop for fabrics or see the latest show at Lincoln Center, to fine art museums in Hungary, to study puppetry in Indonesia, and beyond. 

Meeting his friends and colleagues out for a meal, sipping a glass of white wine while talking art, were some of his greatest pleasures in life.

With his mercurial artistic spirit, he jumped between time and place as he studied cultures with an unparalleled hunger for understanding people through fashion.

From his early career studying music with a B.A. in vocal performance, to production management with Marc Jacobs Design, to his work designing opera, Jerry brought his diverse set of skills with him everywhere.

As a scenic designer he had a gift of distilling the world of a play into one simple-but-powerful image, a metaphor that unlocked dramatic action and provided an exciting playground for actors.

As a costume designer, Jerry combined his exquisite taste and vision with an unending work ethic. He spent countless hours in the costume shop, sacrificing nights and weekends of personal time for the good of the show, along with his colleague and dearest friend Prof. Jane Hiller-Walkowiak. 

Jerry and Jane worked side-by-side, laughing together, helping each other build and sew, and lifting our production values with style and finesse.

With every costume his hands touched, and we had the pleasure of wearing, Jerry elevated our expectations. His energy lives on through the fabric, needle, and thread he used that dressed our bodies, and in turn grounded and energized our performances.

Often serving in multiple production roles at once, Jerry designed both scenery and costumes for large-scale productions like A Free Man of Color. Jerry was found acting in the vocal ensemble of Ragtime rehearsal alongside students at night, while he built costumes for the same production during the day. His stamina for creation was astounding. 

As a producer and department chairperson Jerry held a “more is more” maximalist aesthetic, challenging us with his hunger for artistic output. As a leader and teacher, Jerry was both firm and fair, raising the bar for all. He somehow walked the tightrope of being both at times reserved, and at others, warm and funny.

For those of us who really knew him, he could make the entire room erupt in laughter with nothing more than a raised eyebrow and witty remark.

Jerry could often be found sitting at his desk very early in the morning, blasting a Puccini opera, drinking an iced coffee (in winter), and answering the countless waterfall of emails that come to those who choose to serve as department chair.

With the shock of losing Jerry at the tender age of 47 years old, we feel the pain of what it is to lose an artistic family member who was like a brother or father to us. 

Though at times a man of few words, he chose them carefully, tactfully expressing what was on his mind and in his heart, which was always and at the last moment: theatre, teaching, and other people.

Our deep and sincerest condolences go out to the Johnson family, and his dear friends, colleagues, and students. 

-Prof. Peter Sampieri

"A circle represents the cyclical nature of existence. It is a reminder that life is a journey that has no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of unity, eternity, and the interconnectedness of all things. It serves as a reminder of the ways in which our loved ones have touched our lives, and as a memento of the ways in which they continue to live through our memories.

As we reflect on the beautiful color Jerry brought to each of our lives, we invite everyone to come forward and contribute a piece of fabric to the circle. By using fabrics from costumes Jerry designed and built, we will create a wreath for his beloved family that celebrates his artistry and talents."