Players in Orbit

Many New York waiters are struggling actors, but few Gotham restaurants cater to the aspirations of their employees better than Planet Hollywood. The Planet Hollywood Players — a troupe of 27 actors employed at the movie-themed eatery — got an opportunity recently to showcase their abilities in two 90-minute, private performances of one-act skits on the stage of the restaurant's screening room. Hangin' With the Homeboys director Joseph Vasquez, casting directors from ABC's One Life to Live and NBC's Another World, and various brass from the William Morris Agency were spotted among the audience.

''Last week when we were rehearsing, Oliver Stone and Jonathan Demme were eating upstairs,'' says waiter Hoody Quill. ''It was frustrating that we were so close, yet so far. But who knows? Today I'm passing fajitas, maybe tomorrow I'll be starring on One Life to Live.''