Mark Taper’s Seventh New Work Festival Set to Open : Theater: The series is a showcase of plays and performance art pieces. Admission is free.

The Mark Taper Forum’s seventh annual New Work Festival, a series of public rehearsals of plays and performance art pieces, opens today.

Admission is free, but reservations are required--call (213) 972-7392 between 3 p.m. and5 p.m., no sooner than seven days before the show you want to see.

Most of the workshops and readings will be presented at the Taper, Too at the John Anson Ford Theatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East. Hollywood. Unless otherwise noted, shows start at 8 p.m.

The workshop schedule at Taper, Too:

Today--Thursday: Len Jenkin’s “The Dream Express” Saturday--Sunday: Lynn Manning’s “Private Battle” Nov. 9-10: Doris Baizley’s “Mimi’s Guide” Nov. 12-13: Rosanna Staffa’s “The Innocence of Ghosts” Nov. 19-20: Benjie Aerenson’s “The Possum Play” Nov. 30-Dec. 1: Ray Shell’s “Iced” Dec. 7-8: Lucy Wang’s “Bird’s Nest Soup” Dec. 10-11: Shem Bitterman’s “Buffalo Hunters”

The reading schedule at Taper, Too:

Feb. 9: Edward Sakamoto’s “Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire” Feb. 10: Maxim Gorky’s “The Summer People,” translated by Nicholas Saunders and Frank Dwyer Feb. 11: an untitled play by Joan Ackermann, 2 p.m. Feb. 11: Robert O’Hara’s “Insurrection” Feb. 12: Sharon R. Beatty’s “Prickly Pears,” 2 p.m. Feb. 12: Lillian Garrett-Groag’s “Bones” Three performance art pieces will go through workshops at the Actors’ Gang theater, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. Cheryl Marie Wade’s “Sassy Girl” and Donna Dinovelli’s “The First Eff” will be there Dec. 14-15 at 8 p.m., and Marga Gomez’ “A Line Around the Block” on Dec. 17-18 at 8 p.m.