When the leaders of Gorilla Theatre Productions call the troupe nonprofit, they really mean it. Sometimes its actors are paid, sometimes not.
But the company keeps hanging around and hanging in.
Gorilla is currently preparing for its 11th annual staging of a Greek classic in early-morning daylight hours. This year the play is "The Trojan Women," the powerful drama by Euripides focusing on the aftermath of the 10-year war between Greece and Troy.
According to director David Luby, this one had been on his list to do for a while.
" `Trojan Women' is kind of a universal anti-war play, probably the oldest anti-war play. After witnessing on television all this stuff going on in Sarajevo, I'd been thinking about doing it, but I'd been waiting for the tragedy year to come around again."
What Luby meant was that Gorilla has generally alternated comedies and tragedies since its first Greek production of "Medea" in 1991. An exception to that rule was the Oedipus trilogy, performed in 1993, '94 and '95.
"Even though it was written in 400 B.C.," Luby said of Euripides' tragedy, "it still packs a punch. Basically, it says there are no winners in any war, that all war is bad, that you shouldn't even get into it in the first place."
In the play, conquering Greeks have rounded up surviving Trojan women -- including the Trojan queen and her daughters -- to be sold into slavery. Looking on are the gods Poseidon and Athena.
The performance usually is staged on the south steps of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, but because of construction of the Nelson's addition, "Trojan Women" will be performed in the Wheeler Amphitheatre at Volker Fountain, south of the art museum.
The production will have original music, performed live, by Pat Conway of newEar, costumes by Georgianna Londre and sets by Richard Van Cleave.
This year Gorilla got a significant boost in the form of a $3,000 grant from the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.
The money was a big help, Luby said, but it's "about half of what we wanted to spend. We applied for a couple of other grants, and they didn't come in, but we're getting by. Hopefully, with donations, we'll still be able to give everybody a little bit of money."
Like their colleagues at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, Luby and his team are keeping a watchful eye on the weather forecasts.
"Apollo is the lighting designer for the show," he said. "And Zeus controls the weather....My computer is locked in on Doppler radar. I check in three or four times a day.
"In the past we've done it rain or shine, and last year was the first time we really got rained on -- and it was a little wet." The crew does have an emergency plan for removing the sets to safety should Brush Creek become a rain-swollen torrent, Luby said.
With the tiered seating in the amphitheater area, he estimated that as many as 1,000 spectators could see each performance. He recommended that everybody bring lawn chairs. Donated coffee will be available, he said.
As in the past, there will be no electric amplification for the actors.
"Nope. All natural," Luby said. "The acoustics aren't that bad. The flats and scenery...will help carry the sound up."
Through the years the company has built up a stock of costumes as well as platforms and other scenic elements. The designers recycle as much material as they can, Luby said.
"We also go around and find stuff other (theaters) are throwing out and utilize that as much as possible," he said. "I raid Dumpsters around the large theater companies when they throw stuff away. I'm a recycler."
And, in a sense, the company is recycling great drama, as in plays such as "The Trojan Women," which are seldom performed beyond university theaters.
"It's very moving and very emotional," he said. "It's not a particularly happy play. But it's happy to the extent that we're better off than they are. That's the whole point of Greek catharsis: You cry and weep with them and realize your life isn't as bad as theirs.
"And when it comes right down to it, the gods are in control."
To reach Robert Trussell, theater critic, call (816) 234-4765
"The Trojan Women," produced by Gorilla Theatre Productions, will be performed at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Wheeler Amphitheatre at Volker Fountain on Brush Creek. The performances are free. Call (816) 471-APES or visit the Web site at www.gorillatheatre.org.