Featured Artist: Tara Pacheco

This is a series of posts featuring our artists who are making things happen in and around our great borough of Queens. Please check back weekly for new posts.

TitleOccupation
Actor, Director

Where were you born?
New York, NY

Which Queens neighborhood do you live in and for how long?
I grew up in Jackson Heights and have loved every second of it.

What was your experience like working on All Systems Go: Mission 3?
Working on All Systems Go was wonderful and crazy. There are so many artists working together to put together one night of fabulous theater – it’s a whirlwind. You’d think i’d be mayhem but the team is so top-notch and professional. Everything runs like clockwork.

How did you get involved in theatre?

I went to Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in LIC for high school. While there, I swapped majors from dance to theater and was hooked. I had some really supportive teachers and they really took a personal interest in helping me learn. I fell in love with theater because of them. Then Bruce Willis spoke at our graduation and was totally unprepared and awkward. It was a mess. I remember thinking – if this joker can be an actor so can I. I got B.A.s in theater performance & psychology at Columbia University and then joined the Flea’s Resident Acting company (The Bats).

What do you love most about Queens?
It’s like a secret garden.
We have beautiful parks, historic neighborhoods, awesome beaches (none of my non-NY friends believe Rockaway is Queens), and amazing food! And until everyone else catches on, we have it all to ourselves.

Do you have an “only in Queens” moment you’d like to share?
I once walked by Tina Fey and her crew filming a scene for 30 Rock and onto a subway car where a homeless man was pooping. I’m not sure if that’s an “only in Queens” or more of an “only in NY” moment but, either way, it’s definitely something.

Your top Queens picks (food, entertainment, sights, etc)?
Food:
Queens really is heaven for a foodie, you just have to be adventurous. But here are some of my staples.
Uncle Peter’s (mix of cuisine but they have amazing steaks)
Pio Pio (there are Manhattan locations now but it’s definitely a Queens thing)
Bohemian Hall (the original cool beer garden)
SriPraPhai (great thai!)

The columbian bakeries in Jackson Heights (I’m not even referring to one specific one. Some of the best cakes I’ve ever had have come from those bakeries.

Entertainment / Sights:

Flushing Meadows Park (It’s a beautiful park! take a ride on the 7 train and enjoy the grass)

PS1 (a bit of MOMA in our corner of the city)

Current/Upcoming projects?
I’ve been working on a show called Kapow-i Gogo at the People’s Improv Theater with a great group of people. The clearest way to describe it is as epic geek theater. It’s a completely original, live-action anime that draws on video games, and cartoons from the 90s. It’s a must see for anyone who enjoyed things like Pokemon or Final Fantasy but also it’s so accessible and hilarious that anyone and everyone will fall in love. It chronicles the story of a girl named Kapow-i Gogo and how she wants to become the worlds greatest fighter. Our next performance is August 29th.

I have a couple of other things brewing but nothing ready to be official. Check out my website for updates.