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Each of our summer plays, presented in rotating repertory, portray humanity at it’s best and worst as ethnicities collide and relationships are transformed by the barriers of language, history, class, sexuality and politics. Each character in these diverse plays possesses the opportunity to be uplifted by love, hope and compassion. International in scope and rich with humor and depth, these plays reflect our delicate world and the ways in which we share it with those around us.
Our shows will be performed in three different theater venues!
The production previews June 24 and 25th, opens June 26 and closes on July 20th and will be performed at the Performing Arts Center at UMKC in a rehearsal hall atmosphere in Room 119. It will be directed by company member John Rensenhouse and will feature Ashley LaPine, Karen Errington and Vanessa Severo. What if Shakespeare’s heroine Desdemona is not as innocent as she seems? By looking at her motives and desires from a distinctly modern and perspective, Paula Vogel explores Desdemona’s sexuality, marriage to a much older man and her friendships with her maid Emilia and the low-class tart, Bianca. This hilarious play is a perfect and lively complement to the production of Othello presented by the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival this summer.
By twisting the Othello story into such new and unexpected shapes, Vogel not only makes us reconsider all our assumptions about the men and women in the play but also generates a great deal of humor besides. --Baltimore City Paper
Paula Vogel’s other plays include How I Learned To Drive, The Baltimore Waltz and Hot ‘n’ Throbbing.
Running in rep with Desdemona is the first of two ATKC productions at Union Station’s City Stage, Translations by Brian Friel. Translations will preview July 5-10, open July 11 and run through August 31.
Founding member Mark Robbins will direct. He directed Fifth of July in our 2006 season which was named Best Play of the Year by The Pitch Magazine and appeared in Dinner With Friends, named Best Play of 2007. Matt Rapport, Elana Kepner, Gary Holcombe, Kate Gilchrist, Logan Ernstthal, Cinnamon Schultz, T. Max Graham, Nick Gehlfuss, Michael Rapport and Nathan Darrow will perform.
In a rural hedge school in early 19th century Ireland, against the backdrop of a particularly insidious chapter in Britain’s ongoing colonization of that beleaguered country, Brian Friel’s Translations tells a tender, sad and funny tale of the clash of cultures and the inevitable advent of change. As two languages, English and Gaelic, battle it out for dominance in the land, we see each of the play’s charming characters struggle with their life and times.A basic fluency in the workings of the human heart is all that’s necessary to absorb the beauties of Mr. Friel’s tender, sad and funny play about the difficulty of finding a home in the world, a person to share it with, and a name to call it by.. -- The New York Times
Brian Friel’s other plays include Dancing at Lughnasa and Faith Healer.
Taking Sides, by Ronald Harwood, previews August 8-14, opens August 15th and closes August 31 at City Stage at Union Station.
In Taking Sides, we witness the interrogation of the renowned conductor , Wilhelm Furtwangler and an examination of his behavior during the Nazi era. Since he was allowed to remain as the leader of the Berlin Philharmonic throughout the war, he is under suspicion as a Nazi sympathizer. Furtwangler remains passionate in his defense that he survived as a protector and comforter of the German people and an artist on watch over the cultural life of his homeland.
The play …. offers a total experience that is satisfying because it fully engages its audience leaving them with food for thought and discussion that should extend well beyond the evening's proceedings. Curtain Up
Taking Sides will be directed by Founding Member Tom Mardikes and feature Founders Gary Holcombe and Mark Robbins. Elana Kepner, Michael Rapport, Nick Gehlfuss and Vanessa Severo round out the cast.
Ronald Harwood is the acclaimed screenwriter of “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Pianist.”
Concluding the summer season is A Lesson From Aloes, by Athol Fugard performed at Crown Center’s Off Center Theatre. Previews run September 5 -11, opens September 12 and closes on September 21st.
Set in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1963, the play reunites Piet and Gladys, a white South African couple with their friend, Steve, a black man. The trio met years earlier as anti-apartheid activists and their reunion explores the tension, suspicion and fear of their time together and the havoc it wreaked on their relationships with each other and their country. The aloes plant symbolizes the ability of each of them to persevere through the drought of injustice and misunderstanding.
''A Lesson From Aloes'' is a valuable theatrical lesson in the human price behind the news items we read. The New York Times
A Lesson From Aloes will be directed by Bruce Roach.
Fugard's other plays include "Master Harold" ... and the Boys, The Road to Mecca and My Children! My Africa!
Season ticket prices range from $40-$100. Full season ticket packages will also include a 5th play, our January production at Crown Center’s Off Center Theatre. Play yet to be announced.
For season subscription and single ticket information, please telephone The Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222 or visit our Website at www.kcactors.org
Season • Tickets • Core Artistic Company • About ATKC • Sponsors • Contact Us • Media Kit • Gallery