Two years ago, Actors Theatre of Louisville conceived and introduced phone plays — short dialogues created by playwrights and recorded by actors for theatergoers to hear on telephones. No coins were required; they were free.

        This year ATL's new artistic director, Marc Masterson, invited theater companies across the country to take part in the festival by creating phone plays. The result was seven three-minute dialogues submitted by five theater companies. If you want to eavesdrop, here's what you will hear:

        • Message Sent by Sterling Houston for the Jump Start Performance Company of San Antonio involves a man who finds some answers on his lover's answering machine.

        • Owls by Erin Courtney for Clubbed Thumb of New York City concerns a young runaway.

        • A teen-age mother reaches out for help in Somebody Call 911 by Jennifer Nelson for the African Continuum Theatre Company of Washington, D.C.

        • Click by Brighde Mullins for Thick Description of San Francisco involves a couple in crisis.

        • The Neo-Futurists company of Chicago submitted three works. They are Hype-R-Connectivity by Andy Bayiates, which takes the listener on a trip through a voice-activated portal; Subliminable by Greg Allen, which explores the meaning of the word; and Call Waiting by Rachel Claff about the torture of unreturned calls.

        — Judith Egerton

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