New Dramatists, founded in 1949, offers a haven for playwrights to develop their craft via workshops, staged readings, awards and prizes. New Dramatist membership lasts for a seven-year span, with alumni including Robert Anderson, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, Richard Foreman, William Inge, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Suzan-Lori Parks, John Patrick Shanley, Mac Wellman and many more.

Four of this year's five graduates will receive readings of their latest plays, Oct. 18-Oct. 21. Here's the line-up:

• Oct. 18: Roger Arturo Durling -- The American Bullfighter
• Oct. 19: Jeffrey Hatcher -- What Corbin Knew (Hatcher also directs)
• Oct. 20: Fiona Templeton -- Medead
• Oct. 21: Erin Cressida Wilson -- Cross-Dressing in the Depression, with music by Jack Herrick. Lisa Portes directs.

(An Oct. 22 reading of Marion McClinton's Beauty is a Rare Thing, directed by McClinton, has been canceled.)

Readings are free but require reservations. For information call (212) 757-6960. -- By David Lefkowitz