Are there any alternatives to the Seacoast Scene on a Friday or Saturday night? Do you know what's currently playing at the Ioka? Ever been there for a drink way past your bedtime? Have you ever heard of the Mill Pond Center for the Arts?

You may or may not have asked yourself one of these questions. It's not that important. What is important is that they are questions currently under extensive investigation by the people who might best find answers.

The proprietors and managers of some of the entertainment venues along Route 108, winding through Newmarket, Exeter, Dover, Rollinsford and Rochester, are working toward the tapping of the untapped resource.

Headed up by The Stone Church, The Mill Pond Center for the Arts and The Ioka theater, a project is underway to come up with a collaborative marketing plan that will, they hope, open some new opportunity windows for those who dwell on 108. Although the idea is still simply that, there are visions of themed music festivals, greater arts events, a lot more films, and a much livelier southeastern New Hampshire.

Dorn Cox, vice president of the Mill Pond Center for the Arts, is the idea's originator.

"The cultural venues along 108 are complementary. If we work together to coordinate events and do some joint marketing, we could bring some new life to an area that deserves more attention," Cox says.

He talks as well about bringing businesses into the discussion, but that plan still lies under a few heavier pages.

"Specifics will start to emerge once we have our initial meetings. But I can definitely envision an entire listing in the papers about what's going on on Route 108 each night. If the businesses along the way get involved and sponsor events, it's an advantage to all of us," Cox says. The Mill Pond Center lies in the heart of the route and has a large outdoor space.

Roger Detzler, owner of the Ioka in Exeter, can't wait to get things moving.

"Right now, we are the only ones with our lights on after 10 p.m. on the weekends. This area need to draw attention to itself, to get more people out. It's vital that a downtown district be open past office hours, and that we have cultural and social elements beyond doctors and lawyers," Detzler says. "But it can only work if we collaborate."