The Actor's Studio in New York continues its month-long series of Group Theatre readings May 4 with an examination of the work of leading Group member, Lee Strasberg. By May 17, the Studio will have read each of the 23 plays the Group produced during its existence.

Director Arthur Penn will welcome May 4's guests. The evening will feature music from Johnny Johnson, the only musical the company ever staged. Mel Gordon, a professor of theatre at the University of California in Berkeley, will talk about the training of the ensemble and Strasberg's directing style. Gordon will then take part in a discussion with Helen Krich Chinoy about the Group's training exercises. There will also be a filmed interview with surviving company member, Pheobe Brand.

The talk begins at 7 PM at the Studio, at 432 W. 44th St. To make a reservation, call (212) 757-2467. A schedule of the remaining readings follows:

May 5: Johnny Johnson by Paul Green and Kurt Weill
May 6: Casey Jones by Robert Ardrey
May 7: The Gentle People by Irwin Shaw
May 8: My Heart's in the Highlands by William Saroyan
May 9: Thunder Rock by Robert Ardrey
May 10: Night Music and Awake and Sing by Clifford Odets
May 11: Panel: "Clifford Odets," featuring Joanne Woodward
May 12: Waiting for Lefty and Til the Day I Die by Clifford Odets
May 13: Golden Boy by Clifford Odets
May 14: Paradise Lost by Clifford Odets
May 15: Rocket to the Moon by Clifford Odets and Retreat to Pleasure by Irwin Shaw
May 16: Weep for the Virgins by Nelisse Child and Gentlewoman by John Howard Lawson
May 17: Big Night by Dawn Powell and Case of Clyde Griffiths by Erwin Piscator and Lena Goldschmitt
May 18: Panel: "Elia Kazan"

-- By Robert Simonson