Uncle Vanya

Char is thrilled, as always, to be performing on the stage at PACA.  The first show she did at PACA was Night of the Living Dead (zombie ensemble) in 2019 and she has been in many shows there since  - most recently in Bad Auditions by Bad Actors in July 2026.  In 2025, she had her first directing experience with Radium Girls on the PACA stage, and she is forever grateful to this Erie institution for the opportunites it has provided her.
She is fortunate enough to have done shows at All an Act, Dramashop, the Erie Playhouse, the Station Dinner Theater, and Gannon University's Schuster Theater. In addition to stage work, she has also worked with Britty Lee and her companies Dreamlords Entertainment and Livealore Events, and was most recently seen as Wisteria, the Fairy Queen at the Gem City Renaissance Festival.  
When not onstage, she is the owner of Creature Connection, LLC, a dog-walking and petsitting business. Her life pretty much consists of cats, dogs, and theater, which is a pretty awesome life.

Jade Mitchell has participated in the performing arts since age three, beginning as a classically trained dancer before transitioning to academic and community theatre. She earned degrees in Theatre from Gannon University and Design from Mercyhurst University.

Jade was last seen on PACA’s stage as Davia in Brownstone. Her last Chekhov experience was performing as Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard in 2012 on the Schuster Theatre stage.

Jade believes deeply in the power of theatre, love, and community to transform lives both on and off the stage. She is also the founder and organizer of Corgi Fest, Erie’s most unique and whimsical annual festival.

Jade is thrilled to return to the stage and to work once again with her beloved professor and mentor, Fr. Shawn Clerkin.

Jennifer Puz (Marina) is happy to be back on the PACA stage after a couple year break. She’s enjoyed bringing this contemporary version of a classic to life alongside a great cast. Prior PACA shows include Decision Height, Mauritius, and the 2017 cast of Rocky Horror

Leo is a long distance truck driver and a sometimes-regional art
critic. His writing has appeared recently in Petrichor Journal,
Cornelia Magazine and The Cleveland Review of Books. His first book
“Nothing” is forthcoming with Hildegard Editions, 2027.

J. D Mizikowski has previously been involved at PACA with directing The Woman in Black and Long Days Journey into Night. As well as co directing Mauritius. He was last seen as Iago in Shakespeare Summer nights. Thank you to the cast, crew and Shawn for helping him take one of first theatrical experiences (seeing Uncle Vanya at the Roadhouse) full circle.

Kat is so happy to be back on the PACA stage for such a compelling, and iconic story as UNCLE VANYA. Kat was last seen in URINETOWN (Pennywise), and POTUS: or behind every great dumbass… (Dusty), or on TV in a PA LOTTERY Commerical! Kat is so grateful to have been able to work with such a collaborative, and grounding cast.

London Sullivan is excited to return to PACA as The Neighbor Boy in Uncle Vanya. He’s pretty sure The Neighbor Boy has one of the best jobs in theater: show up, say a few things, eat some snacks, and leave to read Diary of a Wimpy Kid backstage. London is 11 years old and a 5th grader at Rolling Ridge Elementary. He has been performing since he was 6 years old, and Uncle Vanya is his 24th show- which seems like a lot of shows for someone who still has homework. Some of London’s favorite roles have included Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, Sky the Girl Scout in Beetlejuice Jr., Chip in Beauty and the Beast, Peter in Finding Neverland, and Mike Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He has loved his time at PACA over the years and is always happy for another chance to perform there. London would like to give a big thank-you to director Shawn Clerkin for including him in this production, and to the kind cast for welcoming him into the Uncle Vanya family. He hopes you enjoy the show- and don’t blink, or you might miss him!

Erie audiences last saw Michael (he/him) as Max Detwiler in The Sound of Music and Erronius in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. While he loves musicals, Michael prefers plays, making Uncle Vanya a particularly welcome change of pace: a Russian classic where nothing happens (yet everything happens). He is honored to join this talented cast and creative team in his PACA debut.
Michael dedicates his performance to the memory of Blane Dessy, who shared his love of Chekhov and Empress gin.

Nick Kikola is returning to the stage after a decade long hiatus. Long time Erie theatre audiences will remember Nick as a director, and a regular actor across local community theatres, dinner theatres, and academia. Memorable character roles include Dracula, Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff, and Lenny in OF MICE AND MEN. Nick was last seen on the PACA stage during 2012’s inaugural ATTACK OF THE PACA, for which he directed and appeared in the one act piece ALL MEN ARE WHORES: AN INQUIRY by David Mamet.

Shawn Clerkin is a retired theatre professor and civic theatre artist who has been fortunate to have had opportunities to share his theatre talents with those of countless others in northwest Pennsylvania. He has performed and/or directed with the Academy Theatre (Meadville), the Barrow-Civic Theatre/Franklin Civic Operetta Association, Dafmark Dance Theatre, Dramashop, Erie Opera Theatre, the Erie Philharmonic, the Erie Playhouse, the Footlighters of Elk County, Gannon University's Schuster Theatre, Mercyhurst University's Institute for Arts and Culture, and the Roadhouse Theatre. This is his PACA debut, and he is grateful to have this opportunity to create with old and new collaborators in UNCLE VANYA's cast and crew.

Jeff is the Artistic Director of PACA, and has produced, directed and has been involved in hundreds of performances of over the past 40 years.

Before there was a PACA, there was a kid from Erie who fell in love with the stage.

Mark Tanenbaum has been part of Erie’s arts scene since he first laced up his dance shoes with the Erie Civic Ballet Company. From there, he danced with the Chautauqua Dance Company, performed on every major stage in the market, and logged over 1,000 professional productions — including a long run with the comedy troupe In All Seriousness.

In 2010, he turned a historic 1899 building on State Street into something Erie had never seen: a true home for independent, progressive performing arts. PACA was born.

Since then, PACA has become more than a theater. It’s a gallery. A comedy club. A dance studio. A community. A place where Erie’s artists — from first-time performers to MFA graduates — have a stage to call their own.

In 2020, Preservation Erie recognized PACA with a Preservation Excellence Award for breathing new life into downtown. And in 2025, the curtain rose on PACA’s 100th production.

Mark is proof that one person’s vision — backed by grit, a deep love for this city, and more than a few curtain calls — can change a community.