Hark! ‘Tis a chance to see this thing called the play, and not just Mr. Shakespeare’s! It’s the annual run of the Free Night of Theater, when hundreds of theaters in 120 U.S. cities give away thousands of tickets to local productions.

Started by Theatre Bay Area, in San Francisco 5 years ago, the Free Night of Theater began to raise curtains on stages in other cities, such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Houston, NYC.

Last fall, 650 theatre companies opened their doors to more than 65,000 new theatergoers. This year, the number of FREE tickets is expected to top 75,000.

While the kickoff date is October 15, many of the theaters start releasing their FREE tickets by Oct. 1 or in waves during the month of October for performance dates throughout the month. Ticket seekers are limited to two tickets for one performance in any metro area.

Find your city on the Free Night of Theater Website and check the listings for performances, their dates and their ticket giveway times and locations (some cities such as San Francisco hold a physical giveaway in addition to online reservations).

Anon! Time is precious, so hither to the Website forthwith!