Ojai Playwrights Conference holds an annual summer retreat program for writers to develop new plays for the American theatre in an environment removed from the distractions of daily life. The 2002 conference saw works produced by Arthur Kopit (Discovery of America), Jon Robin Baitz (The Paris Letter), Jessica Goldberg (Katzman and the Mayor), Luis Alfaro (Journey to the Center of L.A.) and Kelly Stuart (Mayhem). Ojai also sponsors a week-long writing workshop for teens. Robert Egan directs the reading of Durang and Ives entitled Lunacy and Laughter. He is the artistic director of Seattle's A Contemporary Theatre.

Joining Garber, Macy and Rifkin will be Macy's spouse Felicity Huffman, David Hyde Pierce and Linda Hunt. Other surprise celebrity guests are scheduled to appear.

Tickets are $50 for the reading or $200 for gala dinner, celebrity auction and reading. For information and reservations, call (805) 640-0400. Lunacy and Laughter will be held at the Matilija Junior High School Auditorium at 708 El Paseo Road in Ojai. Ojai Playwrights Conference is on the web at http://www.ojaiplaywrightsconf.org.