Seven years ago, when out-of-town performers were being cast more frequently — too often keeping resident actors in seats, not on stages — the Kansas City Actors Theatre formed in order to nourish local talent and drive its own productions. This troupe's combined skill, training and experience have attracted audiences every year in late summer at Union Station, with works performed in rotating repertory. One year, it was Lanford Wilson's Talley Trilogy; this year, the Pinter Project. The choices are never less than literary. The Q&A following Pinter's The Birthday Party offered little resolution to the complex play but plenty of background and historical context, which helped lessen the ambiguity of unanswerable questions. KCAT seeks to challenge its audiences, not patronize — that's for the ticket holders to do, who loyally fill seats each August and September, ready for another season's surprises.
