Brooklyn Academy of Music  30 Lafayette Avenue and 651 Fulton Street, both in Brooklyn. Go to bam.org for directions and schedules.

"I'm like a Geiger counter," says Executive Producer Joseph Melillo, "sweeping around the globe to find world-class artists who are doing mature, adventurous work." Mr. Melillo certainly strikes gold more often than not. BAM has become the place, not only in New York, but throughout the nation, for seeing the top European and Asian theater and dance artists. Discounts: Student/senior rush tickets $10 (call 718/636-4100 at noon, day of performance, to check availability). Ushering: No. Greatest Hits: Works by Ingmar Bergman, Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Mark Morris.

The Ontological-Hysteric Theater  131 East 10th Street, ontological.com

Richard Foreman's dreamscapes have consistently challenged and intrigued audiences for 30-plus years. Playing more to the subconscious mind than the conscious mind, this is theater at its most challenging and surreal. Discounts: $15 tix, 'nuf said. Ushering: No. Greatest Hits: Bad Boy Nietzsche, Pearls for Pigs.

Playwrights Horizons  playwrightshorizons.org

As the name implies, this theater concentrates on the craft of playwriting, offering authors a forum to develop new works. In the past few years, the company has been especially successful with its innovative musicals. Playwrights is building a new theater (to open in 2003) and is currently bouncing from house to house in the Times Square area. Discounts: playbill.com, TKTS booths, $15 student rush tickets two hours before show. Ushering: Yes, call a month in advance. Greatest Hits: Driving Miss Daisy (Pulitzer Prize), Sunday in the Park with George (Pulitzer Prize), The Heidi Chronicles (Pulitzer Prize), Falsettos.

The Vineyard Theatre  108 East 15th Street, vineyardtheatre.org

The Vineyard veers from top-notch plays and musicals to pieces that land firmly in the realm of performance art. A mixed bag, but always interesting and well performed. Discounts: TKTS booths, theatermania.com. $15 student rush tickets on the day of the show, sometimes $20 general rush tickets too (check Vineyard's Web site). Ushers: Three per performance, call three weeks ahead. Greatest Hits: Three Tall Women (Pulitzer Prize), Fully Committed, How I Learned to Drive (Pulitzer Prize), Goblin Market.

The New Victory Theater  209 West 42nd Street, newvictory.org

Innovative, fun performances for children and families right on no-longer-bawdy 42nd Street. The curators look for work both in the United States and abroad that will appeal to all ages. To that end, they book quality puppet shows, acrobatic and circus troupes, "new vaudeville" acts as well as theater pieces, all of which can be previewed with video-streaming at the theater's Web site. Discounts: None, but tickets are affordable at $10, $20, or $30. Ushering: No. Greatest Hits: Ain't Nothin' but the Blues, The Flaming Idiots.

P.S. 122  150 First Avenue, ps122.org

Set in an abandoned school, P.S. 122 is as downtown and edgy as theater gets. "We don't have many toilets, the seats are rough, we don't have a real lobby, but it's all about the work and most of our work is pretty entertaining. We do really interesting failures," joked Mark Russell, artistic director. "Over in Europe there are a lot of cultural centers where this type of small, funky theater happens. Here, it's just us." A true New York experience, and a place to see the big names of tomorrow while they're still experimenting. Shows at 7:30, 8:30, and 10:30 most nights. Discounts: None, but tickets cost just $12 to $20. Check Web site for free student and senior tix. Ushers: Three per show. Greatest Hits: Blue Man Group, works by Eric Bogosian, Spalding Gray, John Leguizamo, Meredith Monk.

Adobe Theatre Company  Various venues in SoHo, adobe.org

A young, hip scene, Adobe serves drinks and plays dance music before and after shows for a party atmosphere. Its plays tend to focus on myths, urban and otherwise, which are wittily skewed before evening's end. Discounts: None, but tix are just $12. Ushering: No. Greatest Hits: The Handless Maiden, Duet!