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 season will open with Donald Margulies' winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in drama, "Dinner with Friends" (Oct. 5-21). 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 successful architect whose world collapses when he falls in love with the title character. 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.