The St. Louis Actors' Studio has put together a sixth season that revolves around a theme of "kings, queens and pawns" — a sextet of plays that explore differences between those who act and those who are acted upon.

"Each play involves kings, queens and pawns  —  sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively," said William Roth, the troupe's cofounder and producing director. As a rule, it performs at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle Avenue.

The 2012-13 season opens with Donald Margulies' winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in drama, "Dinner with Friends" (Oct. 5-21, 2012). A comedy-drama about two young couples and the foibles of modern marriage, "Dinner" will be directed by Milton Zoth, a Studio cofounder and its artistic director.

The unexpected arrival of a young writer interrupts a chaotic Christmas celebration in "Season's Greetings" (Nov. 30-Dec. 18), a deliciously knowing farce by Alan Ayckbourn. Elizabeth Hellman directs.

Edward Albee's 2002 winner of the Tony Award for best play, "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?" (Jan. 18- Feb. 3, 2013) looks at the disintegration of a modern marriage (and maybe society) through the story of a hugely successful architect whose world collapses when he falls in love with — not another woman, not another man, but with the title character. What shocks us any more? Albee pushes that question about as far as it can go. Wayne Salomon directs.

It's followed by one of Tennessee Williams' lesser-known plays, "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur" (March 8-24). Set in St. Louis in 1935, the story centers on three unmarried women. It will not surprise Williams fans to learn that one of them is a romantic dreamer. Zoth directs.

The season closes with two classics, both dealing with mammoth issues: destiny, self-realization, the meaning of life. Bobby Miller will direct Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" (April 19-May 5) and Zoth will direct Shakespeare's "King Lear" (June 7-23).

The Studio's current "Law and Order" season continues with "Killer Joe" (April 6 -22), a brutal drama by Tracy Letts, and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (June 1-17), Dale Wasserman's stage treatment of Ken Kesey's landmark novel about a man who breaks all the rules. For more information or for tickets, visit the website or call the Studio at 314-458-2978.