By J. Kelly

Every Monday night on the outskirts of Mirvish Village, the top floor of the Victory Café mysteriously fills with actors and playwrights. Okay, it’s not actually mysterious: they’re there for the Cold Reading Series. (Oh, and the mini bottles of Mill Street Organic Lager that the V.C. sells.)
Organized by local thesp Jane Spence, the 8 à 10 soirée features plays by new and nearly new playwrights read by professional actors… read with little or no preparation. “Cold readings,” if you want get all technical about it.
Tonight, the Cold Reading Series holds a Christmas Cabaret fundraiser featuring performances by actor/musician Richard Greenblatt (on one piano with two hands), stand-up comic Marcia Johnson and blues bassist Gary Folka — as well as some stellar cold readings. Tickets are $10 and the proceeds go to pay the entrance fee to the Fringe or Summerworks Festival for a deserving Cold Reading Series writer.