Progressive Theatre and Community Performance Space
PACA (performing Artists Collective Alliance) began in 2010 as an independent, progressively-minded theater and performing arts center. Housed in a downtown historic landmark building built in 1899, PACA seeks to help revitalize the downtown area and promote a sustainable artistic and cultural community.
Since its inception, hundreds of individual performances have been held at the venue. It is already becoming the most innovative and progressive theater and community performance space in the tri-state area, serving the broadest possible audiences and performers.
PACA has hosted international classical musicians to Grammy award-winning jazz performers, local butoh dance performances, to local urban wordsmiths. PACA has produced award-winning plays with talented local actors as well as being the first in the region to host Equity Actors on our stage. PACA has also produced original and locally written world premiere performances.
Making the Arts Happen in Downtown Erie
Our gallery has been utilized by students presenting their master's exhibits, high schools art shows, and regional artists. The Performing Artists Collective Alliance maintains a self-sustaining artistic performance space venue with associative support services, available to the community as a regional asset, wherein independent artists and artistic companies are able to present their work to the public in an effort to advance the arts and educational opportunities. PACA is a regional performance, instructional, and exhibition space for the use of the widest range of artists and educators in the Erie community. PACA, in it of itself is a unique type of space.
We merge all the performing arts with the visual arts in a shared space that allows for a lot of crossover and synergy, giving patrons the opportunity to experience something that they might have missed if they were just attending a function that caters only to their specific interests. While the development of an arts education space is not entirely new to the Erie area, this business model is, giving artists autonomy and more financial control over their own classes and schedules. PACA provides support, insurance, and advertising outlets to keep the artists focused on their art and their students; we help them promote their classes and give them the ability to market to potential students outside of their individual networks.
