The Secret Theatre
The Secret Theatre
The Secret Theatre is dedicated to creating seriously good theatre:
Bold, imaginative, and accessible.
Founded in Long Island City in 2005, we provide an affordable, professional home for artists and visiting companies to present ambitious work, from classic texts to contemporary plays and musicals, making high-quality theatre available to audiences at a fraction of the cost of Broadway.
What is secret arts?
Secret Arts is the creative umbrella that brings together The Secret Theatre, The Secret Academy, and Vital Art Studios under one roof — a shared home for performance, education, collaboration, and artistic exploration.
Built on the legacy of The Secret Theatre and its long-standing commitment to bold, community-driven work, Secret Arts exists to nurture artists at every stage of their journey.
The Secret Academy is where we foster young creatives and give them a safe space to explore their individual uniqueness as creatives.
Vital Art Studios is a creative hub in Queens offering affordable artist studios and gallery space for local artists and the community since 2011.
Whether through live theatre, arts education, rehearsals, workshops, or creative development, each branch of Secret Arts is connected by a passion for imagination, storytelling, and fearless creativity.
Together, we are building more than a venue — we are creating a vibrant artistic hub where artists, students, and audiences can discover, learn, and grow.
The Location
Since 2009, The Secret Theatre has been part of the Long Island City arts community, training young performers in acting, dance, and singing and supporting their journeys to the stage, screen, and top arts programs.
Find us in Long Island City:
Where stories come to life.
Just off 44th Ave and 10th Street.
40°45′0.14" N
73°57′1.29" W
(10-10 44th Avenue Long Island City, NY 1110)
A word from our founder
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the decision to move back to Long Island City and to create Secret Arts — A place where my three deepest interests: Theatre, Teaching, and Fine Arts, all live together on a single floor.
In many ways, it is an Arts Center, though I hesitate to use that term because of the baggage it can sometimes carry.
At its heart, Secret Arts is a cultural center: A living, breathing space for making, learning, and exchange.
The space includes a theatre and performing arts classrooms, and will soon expand to feature a large dance studio, a recording and podcasting studio, and other facilities to support cross-disciplinary work.
Along two sides of the floor are fifteen custom-built artist studios for painters and creatives, each filled with natural light from eight-foot-high windows. Looking ahead, we plan to add a kiln, a wood shop, and a dedicated costume and prop shop.
So why did I build this?
There are many possible answers, but it really comes down to two:
First, this community in Western Queens needs a place like this to exist—especially in an age defined by screens, isolation, and distraction.
Secret Arts is an invitation to engage: to watch, to participate, to be inspired, to learn, to dream, and to perform. It’s a place where presence matters.
Second (and just as honestly):
I needed Secret Arts to exist. After a life in music and theatre, it felt like a fever dream to finally bring everything together under one roof. A recent wake-up call from the universe reminded me how much more I want to do, make, and share. As an artist, I don’t draw lines between naïve, emerging, established, or polished work. What excites me is creativity itself—the act of making, wherever it begins.
At its core, Secret Arts is a sandbox. A place to experiment, to fail, to play, and to discover.
Everyone is invited to play.
Welcome.
Richard Mazda