Playwright Lee Blessing will lead the first of A.S.K.'s twenty-first century professional labs. Blessing (A Walk in the Woods, Cobb, Patient A) will discuss the multi-faceted idea of survival of a playwright, both while writing a play and after the play's completion. In this hands-on, practical lab, participants should expect writing assignments during and between sessions. "Surviving Your Play" will be offered Monday and Tuesday, March 27-28, 6-10 PM.

The lab is open to playwrights by application only. Send a resume and 5-10 page writing sample to Surviving Your Play c/o A.S.K. Theater Projects by 5 PM, Feb. 28.

The second spring lab will explore the kinetic aspects of writing and the authorial dimension of acting. Deborah Margolin, co-founder of Split Britches Theater, will lead an intensive lab in "Ensemble Writing" for performers and writers. Margolin's teaching techniques, including automatic writing, gender deconstruction and associative imaging, have been developed in performance and used in her classes at Yale and elsewhere. The lab will run from 10 AM-4 PM, April 24-25, and 10 AM-noon, April 26. All writers will perform and all performers will write. Send a resume and brief letter of interest to Ensemble Writing c/o A.S.K. Theater Projects, 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., #1250 West, L.A., CA. 90064-5026. Applications must reach A.S.K. by March 28.

A.S.K. has also compiled "The Playwrights Guide to Los Angeles," a free publication devoted exclusively to opportunities for playwrights in L.A. Call (310) 478-3200 or visit www.askplay.org

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent