Two bits of theater news broke over the weekend. At 7 p.m. tonight at Out North, 3800 Debarr, you can attend the first in a proposed series of monthly readings of all-new material by playwrights, both local and worldwide. Tonight the author is Alaskan, Paul Bryner, and the offering will be his play "Pivot Point: A Beginning" -- the subtitle refers to the fact that this is part one of a trilogy. Organizers hope that this will become a recurring "First Monday" event. Admission is $7.50. Krista Schwarting directs and the cast includes Kevin Bennett, Mark Stoneburner, Sarah Baird, Erick Hayden - who is also currently performing in "The Winter Bear" at Cyrano's this month - and Missy, most recently seen in "Fourplay" at Anchorage Community Theatre.

And she'll keep doing that, because the other piece of news is that "Fourplay" is being extended with extra performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Nov. 13. ACT is located at 1130 E. 70th. Tickets have been $10 for previous performances. Since some of those shows have sold out, I'd like to hear what others think about the new seating configuration.

Finally, readings of nine plays by Native Alaskans start today at Cyrano's, with "Cikiuteklluqu (Giving Something Away)" by Holly Stanton at 4 p.m., "Raina's Journey" by Maureen Mayo at 6:30 and "William, Inc." by Lucas Rowley at 8. These are the result of a grant from the Ford Foundation that paired aspiring playwrights with established authors to produce their scripts. More will follow on Tuesday and Wednesday.