LONG ISLAND CITY’S SECRET THEATRE
PROVIDES ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF ARTISTS
The Secret Theatre stages musicals such as Rent as well as dramas, dance, operas and film festivals.
BY BILL PARRY
When he immigrated from England
in 2004, Richard Mazda arrived in
Long Island City as an accomplished
actor, director, producer, writer and
musician, and noticed something was
lacking in Queens.
“Back then Long Island City was
so different and I looked around and
noticed there was no real theater,”
Mazda said. “I knew of the Thalia
Theatre in Sunnyside but I didn’t
even know there was a Queens Theatre
in Flushing Meadows Corona
Park. I thought how could a borough
of more than 2.2 million there wasn’t
enough theater for that amount of
people. At the time we had a little
theater company at the Creek and the
Cave on Jackson Avenue, and I had a
hunch that the rezoning for an Olympic
Village wouldn’t work and next
thing you know it was a free-for-all
of a residential boom.”
Before Long Island City became
known as the fastest growing neighborhood
in the country, Mazda
opened the Secret Theatre in 2007 at
44-02 23rd St., eventually expanding
into a larger spot with room for a 100-
seat theater when a coffee company
moved out of the property. The Secret
Theatre had its growing pains along
the way with revenue shortfalls, but
Mazda was always able to put it on
more stable ground through fundraising
efforts.
“The big problem was back then no
one knew Long Island City existed,”
Mazda said. “We did a lot to improve
access to cultural activities in the
neighborhood through the Secret Theatre
and the LIC Arts Open which will
return for its 10th year in May. We’re
trying to go gangbusters this year and
make it a real celebration.”
In addition to providing performance
space for plays, musicals,
dance, music, opera, film, classes, rehearsals,
art openings, parties, and
film festivals, Mazda launched The
Secret Theatre Academy for children
ages 6 to 17 in 2010.
“After giving access to thousands of
artists through the years we were able
to become the biggest theater school
in the borough, and the only theater
school in an actual theater,” Mazda
said. “We have 70 to 80 kids each semester
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SECRET THEATRE
and in then we have eight weeks of
summer camp for a couple of hundred
kids.”
Young performers build confidence
and begin to develop skills as stage actors
and performers through classes
such as musical theater, Broadway musical
theater and Broadway tap dance,
and drama theater.
“We also provide individual coaching
for those of our students preparing
them for prestigious performing arts
schools,” Mazda said. “So it’s the 10th
year of the Academy and the 10th year
of the LIC Arts Open, I guess you could
call it a decade of cultural activity.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
A12 TIMESLEDGER, GUIDE TO QUEENS, SPRING/SUMMER 2020 TL TIMESLEDGER.COM
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