Ralph Waite is becoming Mr. Off-Off-Broadway. Just coming off a run in the obscure O'Neill work at the Playwrights Theatre, he is now starring in a new staging of King Lear, presented by The Aulis Collective for Theater and Media at INTAR53. Performances began Sept. 28 and will conclude on Oct. 29.

Chances are you never viewed Lear as simply an exemplar of domestic violence, but that is the area director Bernice Rohret has chosen to explore in a production inspired by Jane Smiley's novel, "A Thousand Acres." "This thought provoking interpretation," reads a production release, "enters a new realm of social awareness when viewed through the eyes of brutality and oppression concerning the family."

Several of the male roles, including Edmund, The Fool, Gloucester and Kent, will be filled by actresses.

Waite originated the role of the father in Horton Foote's The Young Man from Atlanta. He is best known for his role in the television series "The Waltons."

Tickets are $19. The INTAR53 Theatre is located at 508 W. 53rd Street in Manhattan. For more information, call (212) 279-4200. --By Robert Simonson