It is Super Tuesday in lower Manhattan's Alphabet City, and a crowd is growing outside a dark brick building. But no one is here to vote--the folks waiting outside the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe this evening are here for the seventh season of 5th Night's Screenplay Reading Series. Inside the legendary venue, where poets and performers have entertained for 30 years, the stage now is set for the season's first installment and the 179th reading overall.

Inside, you're greeted by a long bar and a stage with a row of empty chairs. The night's program begins with a short film designed to prime the audience for the onstage cinema that follows. The series' project director Alexandra Berger introduces this evening's cast, all sporting headset microphones, their hands clutching the latest version of tonight's script. Some of the faces are instantly recognizable: Matthew Modine ("Any Given Sunday"), David Straithairn "Limbo" and Karen Allen ("The Basket") are all here to continue a tradition held aloft each year by more than 1,500 actors, including Janeane Garofalo and Delroy Lindo, who've donated their time in seasons past.

Even with bona fide stars on the stage the focus remains on the script. Tonight's work, "Good Behavior" by Richard Brockman, traces the troubles of a wayward mother, read by Allen, who's trying to reconcile her checkered past, her estranged children and an affair with ex-stuntman beau (Straithairn). Readings fill up each week, whether the script boasts marquee names or not, and the stage is democratic territory.

At tonight's performance Modine's pedestrian turn is trumped by newcomer Katherine Moennig, turning in the evening's standout performance as Allen's emotionally troubled daughter. At the script's moving climax, the audience seems stunned by the emotional peaks scaled on stage before them. It's clearly a mistake to assume the term "reading" means flat or lacking drama; the actors certainly don't feel that way.

From Page to Performance

This week's metamorphosis from page to performance achieved on stage began as another submission in a pile of hopefuls. Volunteer script readers critique each script, weighing in with their analyses at bimonthly meetings. If a script gets a few positive reviews, or even one strong advocate, it can move on. Berger then reads the chosen scripts to find those strong enough to create a compelling reading. "I pick a script based on the merit of the writer telling a story that hasn't been told before, in a way that's unique and interesting," she explains.

At the recent Sundance Film Festival, audiences witnessed a new vision in Karyn Kusama's "Girlfight," the gripping tale of a female boxer. But before her film kicked ass in Park City, winning two major festival awards, it began training with a reading at 5th Night. Kusama's film is the most recent success story for a series that has amassed an impressive track record. Thirty-six of the scripts read have been made into films, including Steve Buscemi's "Tree's Lounge," or are currently in production.

But 5th Night is not an instant prize, it's a process. A process, which upon selection, begins in earnest. The author is contacted, calls go out for a director and casting agents, with everyone volunteering their time in pursuit of a common goal. "There's an energized esprit de corps mobilizing forces, explains Mirra Bank, director of tonight's performance. "Everyone has the same understanding."

Selected Writers Work Hard

The process soon has the author filling roles he or she may never have considered, not only rewriting the script but becoming its personal promoter. While 5th Night provides name recognition and a deep well of resources, it's up to the screenwriter to fill the seats. Brockman placed calls to dozens of film companies, drumming up interest in his reading. "The fact is that people know 5th Night, they know the Nuyorican," explains Brockman enthusiastically. "There's no question that it helped."

Since the reading, Brockman has fielded eight requests for scripts from production companies. And while the final fate of the script is unknown, the reading certainly helped take it to the next level. Brockman speaks highly of his script's performance at 5th Night. "To see it on its feet, with the caliber of actors we were able to get, was thrilling," he says.

Leaving a 5th Night reading isn't like walking out of a film or a play, because you can return to these events and see the film or play again. The screenplay reading, however, is a one-of-a-kind experience. The smaller, more intimate moments replay in your mind as you leave the unassuming building that betrays no hint of the emotional energy just tapped inside. You might even say that attending a reading is akin to attending a birth. Not all scripts born at 5th Night will develop into feature films, but this daunting fact cannot dissolve the joy one feels at bearing witness to the miracle of creation.

Interested writers can submit screenplays to 5th Night by logging onto the 5th Night Web site. For information on becoming a sponsor, call (212) 529-9329.