Launching an all-world premiere season called Newthing, off-off Broadway's Target Margin company opens with Todd Alcott's Tulpa, running at the HERE Arts Center Oct. 13-Nov. 6. TM artistic director David Herskovits directs. In the cast are Target Margin favorites Mary Neufeld and Yuri Skujins, as well as Melody Cooper, Chuck Montgomery, Lenore Pemberton and Kavitha Ramachandran.

Tulpa traces the life of a woman religious leader stalked by a mysterious figure to her new home in New York City. Stumbling through several mystical encounters, she must learn to pass on the sacred knowledge she claims to carry. Alcott is best known for scripting the film "Antz." In New York's downtown theatre community, he has been both a playwright and actor, authoring One Neck (which starred Allison Janney at the Atlantic Theatre Company), Victim of Gravity and Girl in the Ashes.

Designing the show are Louisa Thompson (sets), Lenore Doxsee (lighting), Meredith Palin (costumes) and Tim Schellenbaum.

Tickets ($15-$12) are available by calling (212) 647-0202. HERE Arts Center is located at 145 Avenue of the Americas.

Target Margin, a 1998 Obie winner for their revival of Mamba's Daughter, will continue the world premieres with Some Assembly Required (Jan. 12-30, 2000) and Five Hysterical Girls Theorem (April 19-May 13, 2000). Some Assembly, a two-week festival of laboratory productions of new plays, will run at the Present Company Theatorium. Hysterical Girls, a comission from Target Margin written by Rinne Groff, will run at the Connelly Theatre.

-- By Christine Ehren & Robert Simonson