THE GIN GAME, A NUMBER, THE ISLAND and More Set for Kansas City Actors Theatre Season 11

Kansas City Actors Theatre is delighted and proud to announce plans for their Eleventh Season. "A Dance. A Duel. A Negotiation. Every conversation a revelation." Come join us and get in on the conversation as Actors Theatre explores the dynamics of relationships as they develop, evolve and disolve. Actors Theatre will present a series of two-handers kicking off in August 2015 and running to March 2016.

The first production of the season will be D.L. Coburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, The Gin Game, directed by Dennis Hennessy. Humor and psychological warfare crackle over a card game between two quick-witted residents of an assisted living facility. Though neither Fonsia nor Weller is quite ready to admit their weaknesses - or their secrets - their game of gin becomes a metaphor for life as each one wages an emotional battle against aging. Performances will take place at Union Station's H&R Block City Stage Previews start August 12th, opening night will be August 15th and performances will conclude on August 30th.

At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee will be performed at Union Station's H&R Block City Stage and begin previews on September 9th. The opening night will be September 12th and run through September 27th. Albee, apparently thinking he hadn't finished with Peter in The Zoo Story from 50 years ago, has composed a companion piece as a prologue, and conjoined the two in "At Home at the Zoo."

In this meticulous and nuanced look at the lives of three New Yorkers, an everyday conversation between a husband and wife takes an unexpected turn into dangerously personal territory. The revelations and confrontations catapult them from their delicately balanced world onto life-changing paths. With the intensity and honesty for which Albee is known, At Home at the Zoo reveals the cutting truth about the razor's edge of our humanity.

The third show of the season brings a new playwright into the Actors Theatre fold. Caryl Churchill's A Number, is an intriguing study of a father who was motivated to reproduce a lost son and what happens when that scientific capability grows beyond his control.

The winner of multiple Obie Awards, Ms. Churchill's plays are known for their keen intelligence and perceptive exploration of current themes. Written and first performed in 2002 around the time of Dolly, the sheep,

In the tradition of their productions of Three Viewings at the Muehlebach Funeral Home and Boston Marriage in a drawing room at Webster House, Actors Theatre is searching for an appropriate non-traditional space to present this piece. Performances will take place in late January and early February at a location to be revealed ... Stay tuned!

The final show of the season is South African playwright, Athol Fugard's The Island, presented at H&R Block City Stage in Union Station. This piece was created with actor- activists John Kani and Winston Ntshona for Cape Town's Space theatre over 40 years a go.

The Island is Robben Island, South Africa's notorious prison, where John and Winston are political prisoners and cellmates. After absurdly grueling days laboring under the sun, they return to their dark cell to rehearse a makeshift performance of Sophocles' play Antigone. Rehearsals in the cramped cell will test their friendship and strain their resilience in this gripping, vivid portrait of apartheid-era struggle.

Kansas City Actors Theatre is stepping into its second decade of producing quality classic and modern-classic plays with the best local artists. The support Actors Theatre receives from the community continues to lift the company to new heights.

Tickets go on sale beginning May 26th. You can purchase tickets through the Central Ticket Office at 816.235.6222.

Kansas City Actors Theatre - Season 11:
The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. Directed by Dennis Hennessy.
At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee. Directed by Doug Weaver
A Number by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Mark Robbins.
The Island by Athol Fugard. Directed by Walter Coppage.

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