Meet Mia, the founder of M.I.A.

Hi, I'm Mia Soleil Jacquez.

I'm a Brooklyn girl, and I've been acting since I was seven. I'm now a BFA Drama student at NYU Tisch, training at the Experimental Theatre Wing and Stonestreet Studios, Class of 2028.

Where I grew up: the Secret

Before college, I spent eleven years at the Secret Theatre in Long Island City. Richard Mazda, the Secret's founder, was my acting coach and mentor, and it's where I learned what it means to be part of a company. I played Nancy in Oliver!, Gabriella in High School Musical, Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, and the Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, and I was in Heathers and A Christmas Carol. I also starred as Ginny in Ghostlight, a short film Richard wrote and directed.

In 2025, I received the very first Secret Arts Rising Light Award, which came with a residency at the Secret. The Secret has been my home theatre for most of my life, so it's the only place I'd want M.I.A. to live.

Why I started M.I.A.

Richard told me he wanted me to have my own young artists group at the Secret, a place where young people could make theatre from start to finish. I started M.I.A. after receiving the award, to give young artists a stage they might not otherwise have.

At NYU, most of the actors around me still don't look like me. I want to prove that women of color can play any role, not just the parts written as struggle or stereotype. I've played Norma McCorvey in Roe and Nancy in Oliver!, roles that are usually cast as white, and that's the kind of opportunity I want every young artist to have.

Every role is open to every actor, because talent shouldn't have to fit a type.

M.I.A. is a home where young artists can act, direct, stage manage, and build a whole production, and where who gets cast depends on talent, not type.