Jessica Goldberg (Refuge, The Hologram Theory) and poet playwright Lynn Manning (Central Ave. Chalk Circle, Shoot!) are the final two playwrights to be heard at the Mark Taper's New Works Festival, ending Dec. 16 at the Actor's Gang. Goldberg's new piece is titled Good Thing; Manning's is Middle Passage.

In thirteen years, the Mark Taper Forum's New Work Festival has first breathed life into The Kentucky Cycle, Angels in America, Jelly's Last Jam and The Waiting Room, among hundreds of other plays. In 2000, 16 playwrights, including Diana Son (Stop Kiss) and Jessica Goldberg , hope to have created a Pulitzer Prize winner - or to at least spark the interest John Belluso did with The Body of Bourne, read in last year's festival. His play is now a part of the Taper Forum's 2000 2001 season.

This year's entries in the New Work Festival were:

The Lalo Project by Diane Rodriquez and Jose Delgado (Nov. 18 19)
Border Ballad by Ruben Martinez (Nov. 30)
Floating Weeds by Philip Kan Gotanda (Dec. 1)
Gold by Stop Kiss's Diana Son (Dec. 2)
The Giver by Kim Dunbar (Dec. 2)
Frankincense by John Rafter Lee (Dec. 3)
Dog Mouth by John Steppling (Dec. 6-7)
The Fair Hope Memorial by Louise Schwarz (Dec. 8)
The Circumference of a Squirrel by John S. Walch (Dec. 9)
The Home Life of Polar Bears by A Hole in the Dark's Hilly Hicks, Jr. (Dec. 9)
Isthmus by Roger Arturo Durling (Dec. 10)
Will He Bop, Will He Drop? by Robert Alexander (Dec. 13-14)
The Heard of a Man by Robert Glaudini (Dec. 15)

All readings are free and tickets are distributed on a first-come, first serve basis at the Actor's Gang box office. The Actor's Gang is located at 6209 Santa Monica Boulevard. For further information on the New Work Festival, call (213) 972-7389. — By Christine Ehren