New Wave Theater Festival
A collaboration between New Wave Arts AND ESSENCE THEATRE,
showcases a diverse array of talent –
from emerging to established actors, artists, directors, and musicians. Featuring new wave of performers and performances in New York City theatrical venues, the festival celebrates rich European and Eastern European cultural traditions within New York's vibrant international arts scene, bringing together a dynamic mix of popular plays and new groundbreaking performances that bridge creative traditions with the avant-garde spirit of the talented melting pot of New York City.
Join us December 9-14, 2025, at the ATA Cullum Theatre 314 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019
New Wave Arts
The idea for New Wave Arts was conceived in the winter of 2019 when Leo Grzhonko, Harvard graduate scholar and Zeyna Gagne with her long existing production company “Salon DZ”, actress/producer were acting in a show together and discovered their
shared dream of founding a theatre company that created original productions of the highest artistic value. The two began planning and preparation, and the company formally launched their first production of the play “My Cyrano”, improvisation written by a popular New York writer Taniya Lebedinsky, inspired by and based on the famous heroic comedy of Edmond Rostand “Cyrano de Bergerac”.
Essence Theatre Studio
It is a nonprofit 501c3 organization whose purpose is to form and operate a public theater to benefit New York's diverse ethnic groups; it's a a charitable corporation with the mission to culturally enrich, empower and stimulate the diverse community of immigrants, by providing the highest quality standard of theatrical performance. Our aspiration is to engage audience in thought-provoking topics while emphasizing the importance of open communication, mutual respect and empathy, universal values and deep understanding of human nature and psychology. Our goal is to expand into the Grand Theater Art Center, where we could perform, teach and host multiple theatrical events.
