Who we are
Ricky Pak is an Associate Professor of Acting at Syracuse University’s Department of Drama and a teaching artist with the Tectonic Theater Project in New York City. Recent directing credits: … Humming in the Background and Ghost Ship- Syracuse University Department of Drama, Home for the Holidays- Syracuse Stage, Danny, King of the Basement- Syracuse Stage Education. Recent acting credits: Regional Theatre: Our Town (Syracuse Stage), Yoga Play (Syracuse Stage and Geva Theatre Center) Here Comes the Sun (New York Pops Up/The REV Theater Company), Saving the Country from Itself (Su Teatro, Denver, CO.), Valley of the Heart (el Teatro Campesino/Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA.). Film: The Wretched Devours (Hulu), I Love My Dad (Hulu), The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (Hulu).
Historical Consultant & playing the role of “The Narrator”
Writer
Mr. Dickens is Coming to Town! is a passion project for playwright, filmmaker & journalist Johanna Beale Keller. This 2026 artist commission was made possible with generous support from CNY Arts.
The story was inspired by an article she read a few years ago in the Post-Standard (Syracuse.com), written by Robert Searing, Curator of History at the Onondaga Historical Association. She commented: The idea that in 1868, Charles Dickens—at that time the most famous living author—came to tour Upstate New York was so exciting. There is drama in the story: apparently, he didn’t like our little town of Syracuse, and that presents an intriguing mystery element. I was a Dickens fan when I was a child, and as soon as I read Bob’s excellent article, I imagined there were children in 1868 who, just like me, loved his books, including “A Christmas Carol.”
For the past two decades, Syracuse has been my beloved home, she said. It’s a quirky place with fascinating history, great people and buckets of artistic talent. This story shows how easy it is to underestimate this region. But, as in so many of Dickens’s stories, this drama is also about how the wisdom of young people can remind us to hold tight to our most important values.
Director
Robert Searing is the Curator of History at the Onondaga Historical Association. Chartered in 1863, the OHA operates six museums, including the Onondaga Historical Museum in Downtown Syracuse; Skä·noñh – Great Law of Peace Center on Onondaga Lake; the Onondaga Veterans Museum at the Onondaga County War Memorial; the Onondaga Veterans Museum at the Onondaga County War Memorial; as well as the Regional Aviation History Museum at Hancock International Airport, and the Brewseum at Heritage Hill Brewhouse, both which were developed and built under his direction. In addition to his duties at OHA, Robert writes a weekly column for The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. He is also the host of “Repeating History,” a radio show/podcast on WCNY 91.3 He has a B.A. in history from Binghamton University, and an M.A. and M.Phil. in American History from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He is an adjunct in the History Department at SUNY-Cortland and Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
