If you're in Los Angeles on a Tuesday looking for action, or you want to go somewhere to see some of those famous Hollywood starz but don't have the stomach or the bankroll to louche about at Sky Bar. Then do yourself a favor and head over to The Knitting Factory for Tuesday@Nine. It is the horizon line, the vanishing point for theater, film, TV and music. The joint where you might just hear the next Oscar winning screenplay (it's happened before), or the next Tony winning play, the next hit TV show, or hear a Grammy nominated singer, in a crowded intimate room... for free.

Tuesdays@Nine is a reading series created by The Naked Angels Theater Company in NYC. . Its premise is this: "writers have their new text (italics mine) read aloud in a public forum." Sounds pretty unassuming, but their success is unquestionable. The Naked Angels began in 1986 and has grown in stature to become one of the most consistently exciting theater companies around. Check out their website, and scroll through their past productions. The credits read like a who's who of American stage and screen; John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Kenneth Lonnergan, John Robin Baitz, Mary McCormack, and on and on. And this was before those people were names.

A few years ago Naked Angels extended its reach to Los Angeles. And in spring 2004 began Tuesdays@nineLA at St. Nick's Pub (8450 W. 3rd St. Los Angeles (323) 655-6917) in Hollywood. St. Nicks is dive pub that caters to a college crowd, cheap beer, and bad French fries. But the owner must harbor a secret love for the stage, because he has turned the upstairs into a small theater. Its capacity is probably around fifty, but I swear I've seen twice that crammed into every corner and spilling right onto the stage. I started going soon after it began, and haven't stopped. Recently they moved to the Knitting Factory to accommodate all the people who were standing in the stairway, trying to catch a glimpse of the action. I haven't been to the new space yet, and I've heard it's a step down from St. Nick's, but hopefully they'll make it work.

The evening is run by Jen Demartino, Kimberley Mercado, and Shark, who handles the music. The writers, chosen the week before by Jen and Kim, arrive with ten pages and scripts for all players. Actors arrive at eight thirty. Everyone is welcome, all you have to do is introduce yourself to Kim or Jen and tell them you're interested in reading. You might not get up immediately, or you might find yourself reading stage directions for a couple weeks, but eventually they will work you in. The writers pick actors and give them scripts, and then for the next half hour each actor works on the text. At nine, they start reading. Usually there are four writers a night, each presenting ten pages. There is no rehearsal. This is what's called a cold reading. But that's where the chill ends. In between readings, a musical guest chosen by Shark of the Wild Colonials (Angela McCluskey) plays a short acoustic set. A couple of my favorite guests have included Cary Brothers (Blue Eyes-Garden State Soundtrack and a band called Goldspot . The night can have its ups and downs you'll get some stinkers along with the gems. But that's really not the point. It's all new work, and goal is not to present a finished product but to show works in progress. The thrill is in seeing the creative process in action, up close and personal, and to know that you're seeing next year's films, and plays long before you're friends back in Spudstown Iowa will. At it's best you get a sense of what it must have felt like to hang at Max's Kansas City in the eighties. This is where it's at, and you will want to be there.

Just this past week I went to a staged reading of a play called Sick by Erik Patterson. A few of the stand out actors include Josh Stamberg, Michael Weston, and Missy Yager. If you don't already know their names, remember them because you will soon. It had been developed ten pages at a time at Tuesdays at Nine. Don't be surprised if you see it at a theater near you in a year or so. And remember you heard it here first, and I saw it at Tuesdays@Nine.