A look at relationships, from a barstool

Boston has no shortage of places where everybody knows your name. With "Plays on Tap," producer/director Joe Antoun explores the phenomenon with a collection of short plays all set in various watering holes.

"Bars and restaurants are such a common venue for people to meet, fall in love, argue, reminisce or commiserate," Antoun says. "It didn't take much searching to find playwrights who look at the topic from different angles."

"Plays on Tap," which opens this weekend and runs through March 1 at the Boston Center for the Arts' Black Box Theatre, includes contributions from eight Boston-area playwrights. "Six are comedies and two are serious," Antoun says, "and it was fascinating to hear all the different voices and situations."

The plays include "Lies, Lies, Lies," by Patrick Gabridge, in which a man and a woman meeting for the first time agree to lie rather than tell the truth about themselves; "The Junior Banana-Boat-Free-Balloon Special," a dark play by Joe Byers about the choice a lonely young girl must make; "Novices," by Monica Raymond, a 21st-century take on "The Taming of the Shrew"; "Crab Legs," by George Sauer, about a female athlete who finds the inspiration to make an important decision while eating shellfish; "IDWYT" by George Smart, about two men in a long-term relationship who are questioning their commitment; "The Watering Hole," by Karla Sorenson, in which a woman gets some coaching from a friend as she tries to re-enter the dating game at age 45; "Break," by Susan Leonard, about two sisters who try to communicate over a game of pool; and "Breakfast With Harvey," by Anthony Clarke, about a movie star and his assistant.

"Part of what makes these plays so accessible is that the playwrights come from all walks of life," says Antoun. "One is an orthodontist, one works in human resources, and another manages an apartment building. I think that diversity gives the scripts a freshness audiences will connect with."

Although the plays cover a wide variety of encounters, Antoun says the common thread is not just the setting but the seven actors who play multiple roles. "I deliberately cast people I felt could operate in all the plays," he says, "which is tricky since the ages range from a 9-year-old girl to an elderly man."

Many theater companies offer one or two new plays in their season, but Antoun's Centastage is dedicated exclusively to presenting new plays by area playwrights. "There are times when I wish I could produce the work of a dead playwright," Antoun says with a laugh, "but working with a new script is terrifying and exhilarating for me as a director. And that's good."

"Plays on Tap," presented by Centastage, at the Boston Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre, through March 1 . Tickets: $25. 617-933-8600, bostontheatrescene.com

Martin's debut season

Williamstown Theatre Festival's new artistic director, Nicholas Martin, is taking some of his nearest and dearest from the Huntington Theatre Company community out to the Berkshires for his first season at the helm there.

The season opens June 28 with the Huntington's production of the musical "She Loves Me," which will be Martin's final directing job as the Huntington's artistic director. Closing in Boston on June 15, the production runs on Williamstown's main stage from June 28 to July 13. Also on the main stage: "Three Sisters" (July 16-27); a new version of the Feydeau farce "A Flea in Her Ear" (July 30-Aug. 10) by David Ives; and "Home," by David Storey, featuring veteran actors Richard Easton, Dana Ivey, and Paxton Whitehead (Aug. 13-24).

The smaller Nikos Stage will host Ronan Noone's "The Atheist" (June 25-July 6) with the same team that presented the world premiere for the Huntington last fall, including star Campbell Scott and director Justin Waldman, who will be stepping down from his role as artistic associate at the Huntington to take on that same role at Williamstown.

Current Huntington playwriting fellow Lydia Diamond's "Harriet Jacobs" (July 9-20) will follow "The Atheist." Tony-award winner Julie White will star in the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's "The Understudy" (July 23-Aug. 3). Two additional Nikos productions will be announced later. The festival will limit its stages to two rather than the three former artistic director Roger Rees had up and running last season. Ticket information will be announced soon at wtfestival.org.

While next year's Huntington schedule has yet to be made public, the Williamstown-Boston connection will run the other way at least once, as Martin's production of "The Corn Is Green," which premiered in Williamstown last summer, will play in Boston. No dates have been announced yet for the play by Emlyn Williams.

Notes

"Trojan Barbie," easily one of the best titles of the year, will have a reading Feb. 25 as part of the Providence Black Repertory Company's First Look series. The play, by nearby Perishable Theatre resident artist Christine Evans, sends a lost English tourist back in time to wrangle with Euripedes's Trojan women: Cassandra, Hecuba, and Helen. Tickets: $5. 401-351-0353, blackrep.org.