It’s a tact that has been used for decades. A tact to entice the general public to bars, restaurants and even the ever-esteemed Applebee’s. A tact known as…trivia night. On Feb. 8, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Ragtag Cinema will debut its first Ragtag Trivia Night.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Trivia Night ringmaster and Ragtag projectionist Jon Westhoff said. “Basically it’s a little over $15 a person for a whole night’s entertainment. Even just for entering, we’re going to have Ragtag shirts we’re giving away.”

Taking place in “the big theatre” of Ragtag, six-person teams will battle out their movie trivia knowledge in an environment with both a cinematic atmosphere and room for Ragtag staff to playfully act out movie trivia.

“There’s definitely going to be live performances of movie clips,” Westhoff said. “We’re going to have the Ragtag players and staff members perform scenes.”

This is an act that is not unfamiliar to the Ragtag staff, who reenacted the alternate ending to “Clue” (the movie) during their summer Birthday Bash.

“We’re actually all pretty good actors,” Ragtag Cinema Executive Director Tracy Lane said with a smile.

But will the staff play out another tongue-in-cheek short or will they strictly be performing classic, archetypal movie scenes?

“You’ll have to come and find out,” Theatre Manager Michael Lefebvre said slyly. “I think that’s part of the fun.”

And not only are teams in store for an evening of hefty and humorous trivia, but the night actually serves the purpose of helping as a Ragtag fundraiser.

“We’re making a push to get new video projectors,” Westhoff said. “ The digital format is coming on a lot stronger and our equipment is a little outdated, so we’re making a push to get better digital equipment.”

Having always liked trivia nights, Westhoff brought up the idea of having a trivia night at a Ragtag Monday meeting and was given the go-ahead to follow through on the project.

“I’ve always kind of had it in the back of my mind,” Westhoff said. “I thought it would be a really neat thing to do for Ragtag, specifically with just film stuff.”

Westhoff might be the brainchild of the night, but he definitely has had help manning the ship.

“As always, it’s a team effort with the Ragtag,” Westhoff said. “Connie Kingsley (of the Ragtag Board of Directors) has been spearheading gathering up all the prizes and Michael and Tracy are handling the gathering of the entry forms and processing everyone and getting everyone set up.”

Interested parties should act fast, however, because the deadline for registering a team is Tuesday, Jan. 25.

“There’s still an opportunity for entries, definitely,” said Lane. “I think a lot of people have been excited for it, but they’re still trying to find their full team, so there is still room for more.”

A sorted affair complete with raffles, prizes and a super-secret grand prize, Ragtag is concocting one hell of a trivia night.

“Between the doors prizes, and the entertainment of both the challenge of the trivia and watching us make fools of ourselves, I think it’s going to be well worth it,” Westhoff assured.