Starting this fall, Newman students will rehearse and perform alongside professional artists from two of Wichita’s leading performing arts organizations. It is the first time Newman University theater has partnered with either company.
Director of Theatre Mark Mannette designed both collaborations with the same principle in mind: what is good for students should also be good for Wichita.
“The main idea in forming community partnerships is that it demonstrates how Newman is an active player in the arts for the wider Wichita community,” Mannette said. “It shows that Newman is open to various collaborations and reaching a broader audience. Both cases have the goal of making sure that the partnerships are mutually beneficial.”
The 2026-27 season includes six productions running September 2026 through April 2027, all inside the De Mattias Fine Arts Center.
Alumni take the stage first
The season opens Sept. 17-19 in the Jabara Flexible Theatre with two one-act plays written by Newman alumni. “Chekhov,” by Austin Schwartz ’23, pays tribute to Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. “Looking for Directions,” by Brenden Schwartz ’22, does the same for Samuel Beckett. The Schwartz brothers both graduated from Newman with degrees in theater.
“Audiences will be delighted by these works by the talented Schwartz brothers,” Mannette said.
Students work alongside professional dancers
“Entre Dos Mundos / Between Two Worlds,” presented in partnership with Ballet Wichita, runs Oct. 9-10 in the Performance Hall. The production draws inspiration from Día de los Muertos, the Mexican cultural tradition, as a connection for engaging and celebrating the broader Hispanic and Latino community in Wichita. Newman students who audition will work alongside professional Ballet Wichita dancers and students.
Ballet Wichita Executive Director and CEO Sandra S. Parks said the collaboration is designed to open the work to a wide range of voices.
(Courtesy Ballet Wichita)
“Through this collaboration, we hope to create opportunities for meaningful community engagement, cultural exchange and artistic dialogue that welcomes a wide range of voices and experiences,” Parks said.
Mannette said the partnership gives students an experience Newman could not offer on its own.
“Newman students will have an opportunity to work side by side with professional dancers, which will expose them to a performing art that they will not normally get at Newman except through our cheer and dance team,” Mannette said. “I see the main benefit of this partnership as a chance to give Newman students a new experience as well as raising our profile to the greater community.”
Theater and music departments team up for the holidays
In December, the Newman theater and music departments join forces for a holiday musical. “Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical” runs Dec. 3-6 in the Performance Hall. Written and composed by Meredith Willson, one of the best-known composers from the Midwest, the show features the holiday classic “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and the regional number “My State, My Kansas.”
“Since I have been at Newman, this is just the second time the theater and music departments have collaborated on a Christmas Musical — this year we decided to explore that,” Mannette said. “It is a well-known, deeply Christmas story with holiday themes that will resonate with Newman’s mission.”
Write, direct and perform a play in a day
The 16th Annual 24-Hour Theatre Project returns Jan. 23 in the Jabara Flexible Theatre. Newman students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to participate.
A professional company comes to campus
The second community partnership takes a different shape. Rather than students going to work in someone else’s space, Wichita Repertory Theater comes to Newman’s campus for Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia,” Feb. 26-28 and March 5-7 in the Jabara Flexible Theatre.
“Arcadia” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.
“We are inviting them into our home to collaborate and share the space with one another, which will also give our students great networking opportunities,” Mannette said.
Shakespeare closes the season
The season ends with Shakespeare’s comedy “Merry Wives of Windsor” April 8-11 in the Jabara Flexible Theatre. The production continues a Newman tradition of staging Shakespeare in the spring of odd-numbered years — a run that started with “Measure for Measure” in 2013. A committee of students and staff selected the comedy.
The play features Sir John Falstaff, the knight from Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” whose misguided pursuit of two married women in Windsor leads both wives and their jealous husbands to scheme against him. The comedy is written almost entirely in prose, which Mannette noted is unusual among Shakespeare’s works.
“The huge variety of comic characters makes it filled with challenging roles for our student actors,” Mannette said.
Ticket and performance time information for all productions will be available later this summer.
At a glance:
Newman University theatre’s 2026-27 season runs September 2026 through April 2027 in the De Mattias Fine Arts Center. The six-production season includes the first-ever partnerships with Ballet Wichita and Wichita Repertory Theater. Productions include original one-acts by Newman alumni, a Día de los Muertos-inspired dance collaboration, “Miracle on 34th Street,” Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia,” and Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor.”
