While the first chill of autumn makes its approach, preparations for Marquette’s fall play are reaching a fever pitch. Marquette Performing Arts will present Fall One Acts on November 14 and 15 in the Rudy Hart Theatre. For MQT Performing Arts director Amy Crane, the 2026 fall production is a masterclass in empowerment and delegation.

“Every one of the shows has a director and a stage manager. As production manager, I have two student assistants (Asher Bane ’27 and Evalyn Downs ’28) with whom I collaborate. We meet to ensure all our prop, set, and costume needs are being met,” Crane says.

The teamwork extends far beyond Crane’s two assistants. Her dual-enrollment Theatre Appreciation course has its fingerprints all over Fall One Acts, contributing everything from scenery, sound, and props to the poster for this year’s production. Crane estimates that 60 percent of what audiences will see was designed, built, or created by her students.

Veteran experience will help fill the remaining 40 percent.



Janel Sheerin will direct “Me Thinketh I Stinketh.” Eric Edson, mathematics teacher and longtime local theater contributor, will direct “As If, Cassandra,” while “When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors,” a one-act directed by campus minister Anthony Holt, will round out the performances.

Together, the three productions cover a cornucopia of genres, ranging from comedy to mystery to tragedy. The common thread connecting them is the sincerity that unfolds in each scene.

“We try to find some sort of correlation between the shows. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. Originally, the common denominator was classics (Shakespeare, Greek mythology, and The Wizard of Oz), but when we were writing the cast list, we discovered a much bolder and more cohesive through line,” Crane observed.

That through line will be revealed to audience members beginning Saturday, November 14, with performances at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The final performance of Fall One Acts will take place Sunday, November 15, at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors and will be available at the door.