Zach Helm, an L.A. writer, penned Last Chance for a Slow Dance, which will play June 28-July 12. The work takes place at Red's restaurant, a remote place where nonetheless a lot seems to be happening, much to the chagrin of Sheriff Cole.

Heard is a dependable character actor in Hollywood. His films include "Big" and "A Trip to Bountiful." Prior to his West Coast career, he was a regular presence on Broadway and Off-Broadway stages. On Broadway, he acted in Warp, Total Abandon, Hamlet and The Glass Menagerie, as the Gentleman Caller opposite Jessica Tandy's Amanda and Amanda Plummer's Laura. He was in the premiere of Arthur Miller's The Last Yankee at Manhattan Theatre Club.

The season will run June 20-Aug. 3, and begins with a couple world premieres by unknown dramatists Helm and Ben Snyder.

Snyder wrote In Case You Forget, which plays July 16-27 on the Main Stage, and is directed by Max Mayer. The show is about a young graffiti artist on his way to prison and is described as having a "hip hop edge." Sound youthful? Well, Snyder, a LAByrinth Theatre Company member, is all of 23 years old.

The Second Stage, where plays receive weekend-long runs, will feature four works: The Crazy Girl (June 27-29) by Frank Pugliese, featuring Jill Clayburgh and her daughter Lili Rabe along with Chris Messina; Good Life (July 5-6) by John Corwin; Exposed (July 18-20) by Beth Henley; The New Americans (Aug. 1-3) by Cindy Lou Johnson, directed by Sheryl Kaller. As usual, there will also be two reading series, each boasting five new scripts. They are:

Readings Festival #1 (June 20-22):
The Quick by Tanya Barfield, directed by Leigh Silverman
Musical selections by David Cale
Nature of Our Collaboration by Rick Elice, directed by Roger Rees
The Planet on 158 Street by Clark Perry (mentored by Edwin Sanchez)
A fifth play to be announced

Readings Festival #2 (July 25-27):
Except My Life by Nicole Burdette, directed by Gregory Mosher
This Ball of Mud and Fire by Anton Dudley, directed by Erica Schmidt
The Argument by Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, directed by Theresa Rebeck
Pen by David Marshall Grant
Sweetness by Gary Sunshine, directed by Trip Cullman