Charlotte Repertory Theatre opens its Twelfth Annual Charlotte Festival/New Plays in America Series, running Mar. 31-Apr. 5 at the Booth Playhouse at the NationsBank Corporate Center in North Carolina.

Each year, CRT's literary department reads more than 300 scripts before choosing the plays, which are presented as staged readings with post-performance discussions following the shows. The intent is to create an environment for playwrights to hear how their words transfer from the paper to the stage, and to receive vital feedback to develop their work .

This year's festival includes four major plays, and a smaller showcase. The latter is free with a ticket to one of the major readings:

* The Deer and the Antelope Play by Mark Dunn, is a comedy-drama about a mother, daughter, and grandmother in east Texas who face tregedy and assorted misfortunes head-on with an ex-hooker who comes to live with them.

* Into the Fire by Deborah Baley Brevoot, shows a woman's spiritual awakening that not only effects her. but her whole Alaskan fishing village. At the height of the chaos a mysterious man washes ashore, setting the town and it's inhabitants on fire (in more ways than one). * In The One Eyed Man Is King by Carter W. Lewis, an alcoholic "widow to be" stumbles across a visonary -- who also happens to be looting her home. Together they plummet into darkness and share visions of the desert in this play, loosely based on H.G. Wells short story The Country of the Blind.

* Jerome Coopersmith and Lucy Freeman give forth Reflections of a Murder, described as a suspenseful pot-boiler where a ballerina is murdered and her son is arrested for the crime.

The smaller showcase consists of a new solo performance by Dan Stolar, whose previous work has been featured in DoubleTake. The new piece, with a title to be announced, will be presented on Friday evening, April 3 at 10 PM.

Tickets are $7.50 per performance, $25 for a festival pass. For tickets or more information call (704) 372-1000.

-- By Sean McGrath