By Claude Peck

Step right up and get your free theater tickets. A national theater group has been organizing free-theater nights across the country for several years, but for some dumb reason, the Twin Cities has not participated. That changes this year, when Theater Communications Group's fifth annual Free Night of Theater includes 35 Twin Cities troupes, from big (Guthrie) to small (Pillsbury House). The good idea here is to attract people who cannot afford theater or who prefer to sit home alone and stare into the middle distance. (Which can be fun, up to a point.) The free shows run between Oct. 15 and Halloween, so get to the website at www.freenightoftheater.net and find your free show.