JACKSONVILLE PERFORMING ARTS Company
Performing Arts Theater in Jacksonville, NC
“Featured in FOX CBS and NBC & Voyager Magzine Raleigh
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Our Voices In The Community
Here at JPA it really does take a village!
Come and meet the team.
Nikki Dyba is the Executive Director & Owner of JPA. She has been immersed in Theater for most of her life. Nikki has performed in London, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon. Nikki loves the arts and the benefits it gives to our youth and so founded the JPA Youth performers program in 2017. Recently Nikki has joined the world of Playwrights with five Productions under her belt, not to mention writing and choreographing part of the Fire Prevention program for Camp Lejeune Fire Prevention Department. Always finding ways to create , Nikki is the creator and founder of "Theatrics" An award winning Artisan product that is designed for development, creativity and independent play. Nikki believes that Community Theater is for the community and by the community. It is ageless and timeless and brings joy to many at any age, whether as a performer or a spectator.
"if you are going to make something.... make a difference"
Ellenelle Gilliam was born and raised in Stillwater, MN. She is joining JPA as a Vocal Director. She attended the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists where she studied both vocal and instrumental music. She completed her BA in Music Education with a concentration in voice at Augustana College (IL) in 2016. Later that year, Ellenelle accepted a position to be the Nursery - Grade 12 Music Teacher at Georgetown International Academy in Guyana, South America. During her five years at the school, she helped develop the music curriculum and expand the musical theatre program. In 2021, Ellenelle completed her graduate degree through Carthage College and is a Master of Music in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy. She is currently serving as the music teacher at Tarawa Terrace Elementary School in Jacksonville, NC. Ellenelle has both performed in and directed many shows in her life, including titles such as Into the Woods, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Shrek the Musical Jr., Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast Jr., Once On This Island, and Almost Maine.
Zoë Collins is a honors graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi where she received her Bachelors Degree in Theatre. Instead of focusing on one department, she studied General Theatre to be experienced not only in the performing arts, but the technical side of Theatre as well. Zoë is passionate about bringing theatre into our community to show that you don’t have to be a performer to be apart of the arts. During her College Career Zoë also studied abroad in London for performance where she participated in numerous master classes at RADA and LAMDA. Some of her memorable theatrical roles include: Constance in USM’s production of The Three Musketeers and Olivia in CCAC’s production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In her more technical side of training, Zoë creates SFX makeup looks for personal clients and collaborated with Terror on the Coast for their haunting season. Zoë is overjoyed and blessed to help bring theatre to the community with JPA!
Allison comes to us with a plethora of talents. Allison started her dance career at The Dance Arts center at a very early age. She is trained in musical Theatre, Jazz, tap and ballet. Allison is also a very strong vocalist and picked up many accolades during her performances. You may have seen her perform in Beauty & The beast, Wonka and Disney Under The Stars. But this lady has even more talents and has written two novels and a Play that she hopes to produce this year. We are thrilled to have Allison bring her passion and love for the Arts to our youth and JPA.!
Anessa Gonzalez is one of our Youth Directors here at JPA!!!! We love how Anessa has works with our younger 7-10 years of age Youth Performers Anessa is pursuing her Bachelors in education and has performed in numerous shows. Some of her roles include Frenchy in Grease, Helena in Midsummer Night's Dream and Charlotte in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella . Anessa loves working with our younger age group and we can certainly say ,they love Miss Anessa!
Nina Speranza is our "Show Troupe Director , Nina has performed in many productions with JPA to include Killer Reviews, Death of a hot sauce salesman, Christmas around the World and Disney Under the Stars to name a few. She is an all round actress, vocalist and dancer and has supported JPA from the start. Nina will be running our Show Troupe division to make sure our performers are all organized, scheduled and ready to go for any upcoming shows.
Nina is also an assistant Director for some of our Youth Productions and loves spending time with our actors. Nina is also on the Board of Directors for our Teen Outreach program.
Mackenzie Radcliffe has grown up with JPA. Mackenzie has been performing with JPA since she was 10. We are beyond thrilled that she has become one of our youth instructors and Directors. Mackenzie is also on the committee for the Teen Outreach program and manages the casting, auditions and day to day information relay. Mackenzie has proven to be an incredibly strong choreographer, Vocal teacher and stage Director. She is very well loved by our Youth performers and us of course!!!
Piper McManus has been a performer with JPA for 3 years . She has been involved in the Teen Outreach program and is on the teen Committee. Piper is also an honors student and a Youth Worship Leader. Piper started working with JPA as a choreographer and has shown herself to be a very strong Youth Director and now holds that title. Piper is always full of wonderful ideas and creates beautiful pieces for our sets . She has grown to love and appreciate the relationships built at JPA and is so excited for all that the future will bring! We are thrilled too!
Abigail Hoke is joining Jacksonville Performing Arts as the Technical Director and is enthusiastic for a future & opportunities with JPA.
Her husband, Cooper Hoke and her moved recently to the
Jacksonville, North Carolina area due to Coast Guard relocation from
Miami, Florida and love being able to grow her community especially
in the beautiful world of theatre here. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Theatre Education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk,
Virginia. Her past productions include Stage Managing for all the
following; the premiere of "Taking Measure," written and directed by
Chris Hanna, "Tag: You're It!" directed by Brittney Harris, and "Macbeth," directed by Chris Hanna. She cannot wait to add more to
this list and is honored to have this opportunity.
Isabel Samson is our Artistic Director at JPA and is incredible at transforming our actors into the most amazing characters. Isabel has just finished working with us on Shrek the musical. Isabel created looks for Donkey, Shrek Pinocchio and other fairytale characters. She also created amazing set pieces. Isabel is a true and wonderful artist.
You may also recognize her as she performs in every show we have at JPA and is a very accomplished actress and vocalist. In fact there really is nothing Isabel cannot accomplish!
Jacob Samson is our set designer and creator for our main stage productions. Jacob is a very talented carpenter and can create stunning pieces for every show. Jacob loves to take a scene and character and add the magic by crafting pieces to really make the stage come alive. You may also recognize Jacob as he is also an accomplished actor and vocalist with us at JPA and has been in every mainstage show so far and we look forward to many more!!
Marissa Weber is our Stage Combat Instructor. Marissa joined JPA in the summer of 2021 for our “Back to Broadway” production. Her stage credits include Mrs. Cratchit in “The Christmas Carol Experience”, performances in our variety shows and our 2022 Murder Mystery, and most recently LeFou in “Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical”. In addition to her role, Marissa arranged the stage combat sequences, earning her first theatrical billing as a Fight Choreographer. Since late 2018, Marissa has been a member of The Shadow Players, a sword fighting comedy pirate group, traveling up and down the eastern seaboard with them to perform at a multitude of events and festivals. Marissa is now the first Lady Pirate for ECU and has made history doing so! In conjunction with her life as a swashbuckling pirate reenactor, Marissa became a professional mermaid, “The Siren Sorsha”, and earned her PADI Mermaid and Advanced Mermaid certifications in July 2022. Her life is full of adventures, and she is proud to share in them with JPA!
Patti Aultman is our "Grand Dame Costumier" . Patti has been with JPA since 2017 and has not looked back since. She is a wiz with a needle and thread and has an immense love for creativity . Patti also performs with the JPA cast and is always our fabulous comic relief. Patti has performed in "Death of a hot sauce salesman" ,"Christmas around the World" "The USO Express" "Killer reviews" and "The Saggy Awards" Patti is always our go to for repairs, fixes and solutions. She creates some amazing costumes and we can never wait to see what will be her next production!!
Peter Dyba is 'The Sound Guy" for JPA. Yes, he even has a T-Shirt! Peter has been with JPA since day one and has been the backbone to it all! Designing sets, working on sound equipment and fixing any issues and troubleshooting anything we need Peter loves to interact with the audience and always makes sure everyone is having a great time. Peter also updates any technology, always adjusting our web site and dealing with Ascap, MTI and BMI for rights to production. He designs all tickets and has recently taken over the design of all programs. All in all Peter Dyba is in himself a one man show and we could not run as smoothly as we do without him!!