The Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) has announced its 2025–2026 program, which also celebrates the organization’s 20th anniversary. The season is called Bridging Cultures through the Arts, showing the group’s ongoing goal of using performances to connect people and encourage conversations.
Since it opened in 2006, JCTC has worked to bring global stories to Jersey City while staying rooted in the local community. Its programs aim to create understanding, highlight social issues, and strengthen ties among audiences and artists.
The anniversary season will include global music, international theatre, dance groups, circus shows, civic debates, and the Garden State New Play Festival, a statewide program that develops new plays focused on social issues. Most of the events are scheduled for White Eagle Hall, a historic venue in Jersey City that JCTC restored and reopened.
Co-founder and Executive Producer Olga Levina has said the center’s work has always focused on dialogue and connection. Performances have brought in voices from Jersey City, Johannesburg, Kyiv, and Seoul, showing how art can cross borders and reveal shared experiences.
- JCTC’s 2025–2026 season celebrates its 20th anniversary with the theme Bridging Cultures through the Arts.
- The season runs from October 15, 2025, to June 15, 2026, with events at White Eagle Hall featuring global music, theatre, dance, circus, and new plays.
- Founded in 2006 by Olga Levina and Ben LoPiccolo, JCTC has grown into a major arts hub, engaging over 9,100 participants and 400 artists in 2021.
Fall 2025: Debates and Global Music
The season starts on October 15, 2025, with the Jersey City Arts Debate. This event is free but requires registration.
The Global Music Series begins on November 20 with Brent Birckhead Jazz (USA) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 for students and seniors, $20 for adults, and $25 for VIP balcony seats.
On November 26, the group DakhaBrakha (Ukraine) performs at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18 for students, $30 for adults, and $45 for VIP balcony seats.
From November 30 to December 8, JCTC will present Voices International: Korean Arts & Theatre, Dance, and Music (South Korea). Most shows begin at 6:00 p.m. Tickets cost $18 for students, $30 for adults, $40 for VIP admission, or $80 for a festival pass.
Winter 2026: Dance, Poetry, and Circus
The winter program begins on January 18, 2026, with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company — The Red Firecracker (USA–China) at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $18 to $25.
Between January 20 and January 25, a Korean Cultural Program will take place, with details to come.
On February 1, Where Deep Waters Cross will be presented at 4:00 p.m. The piece is a joint work by Carolyn Dorfman Dance and Jersey City Poet Laureate Rashad Wright. Tickets are $18 to $25.
On February 15, Parallel Exit (USA) will perform the circus show I’LL TAKE IT at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $18 for students and seniors, $20 for adults, and $30 for VIP seats.
Spring 2026: Music, Gala, and New Plays
Spring opens on March 1 with Nomfusi (South Africa) at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 for students, $30 for adults, and $40 for VIP seating.
On March 11, the Global Gala begins at 5:00 p.m., with details to be announced.
From May 1 to May 15, the Garden State New Play Festival will close its residency, which began on September 15, 2025. It will include both free and ticketed events, with festival passes for $50.
Summer 2026: Voices International Festival
The season will end with the Voices International Theatre Festival, running from June 1 to June 15, 2026. Tickets are $20 for a single show or $70 for a festival pass. The full schedule will be released later.
JCTC’s Mission and Outreach
The Jersey City Theater Center was started in 2006 by Olga Levina, a theater and dance professional from Belarus, and Ben LoPiccolo, a real estate developer. The group was built on a mission of supporting human rights and social justice while presenting art that is meaningful both worldwide and locally.
Alongside its shows, JCTC runs youth arts programs, gives support to artists, and creates community projects. Its main programs include the Voices International Theatre Festival, Stories of Greenville, and original works developed with local and global voices.
In 2021, the center reached more than 9,100 participants and partnered with over 400 artists. It operates as a non-profit organization, with federal tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) and registration number EIN# 20-5151520.
From Temporary Spaces to White Eagle Hall
When JCTC began, Jersey City did not have enough proper venues for live performance. The group’s first play, Land O’ Fire, directed by Jorge Cacheiro, was staged in New York City in 2007 because no local theater was available. That same year, the group produced The Whispers & Shouts of a Growing City and Suburbia by Eric Bogosian in raw retail spaces adapted for performance.
Also in 2007, JCTC considered White Eagle Hall as a possible home, but the building was too costly at the time. After the 2008 financial crisis, the hall was put back on the market in 2010 at half the earlier price. In 2012, Levina and LoPiccolo purchased the nearly condemned property and began work to restore it.
While renovations were ongoing, JCTC opened Merseles Studios on the second floor of Monaco Lock. The 5,000-square-foot warehouse was redesigned into a 1,500-square-foot black box theater, an art gallery, and 10 studios. This space allowed the center to continue programming while White Eagle Hall was being rebuilt.
By 2014, JCTC returned with Personal & Universal, a program of theatre, dance, music, and visual art. Around the same time, the group launched JCTC-KIDS, which hosted weekly puppet shows by Puppetworks in a dedicated puppet theater.
In 2015, the group introduced a seasonal theme format, focusing on global issues such as Justice, Happiness, Origins, Vanity, Borderless, Disruption, and Fear.
The restoration of White Eagle Hall was completed in 2017, and on May 5, 2017, it officially reopened. The ribbon-cutting was attended by local leaders, community members, artists, and residents. With new sound, lighting, and modern amenities, the venue became the permanent home for JCTC’s larger shows.
