The Myriad faces of sex for the first time

In a graveyard.
In a room at a Howard
Johnson's hotel.
On the basement floor.
At a friend's house.
In a dorm room.
On a blanket on a golf course.
In a bathroom at Burger King.
In the backseat of a car.
In the front seat of a car.

These are just some of the places people have had sex for the first time.

Their stories are told — giddily, sadly, thoughtfully, regretfully — by a quartet of actors in "My First Time."

The 90-minute show plays at Theatre Conspiracy through Feb. 28. Four actors — Miguel Cintron, Michael Dunsworth, Rachael Enndrizzi and Madison Mitchell — tell the true-life stories of various people's first sexual encounter.

As you might expect, emotions run the gamut. Depending upon who's telling the story, the experience was: embarrassing, awkward, too fast, magical, painful, disappointing, romantic.

Some expect their first sexual experience to be earth-shattering, and it was. Others say: "That's what all the fuss was about?" For some, the experience is over almost as soon as it begins.

COURTESY PHOTO Actors relay first sexual experiences in Theatre Conspiracy's "My First Time." The show runs through Feb. 28 In 1996, two men started a Web site, www.myfirsttime.com, where people were invited to leave their own stories. Almost 50,000 people have written their tales anonymously. Though some seem too good to be true (they sound as if they're making up something for "Letters to Penthouse," trying to persuade everyone that they're a combination of James Bond and John Holmes), other submissions have the feel of reality: the small, telling details, the awkward moments, the mixture of excitement and fear.

Ken Davenport negotiated for the rights to turn the stories into a play, and the result is "My First Time." The show's enjoyed a highly successful run Off-Broadway. Part of this, of course, is due to the fact that anything dealing with sex and/or nudity is a big draw. People are curious about others' first times, wanting to compare them to their own.

Opening night at Theatre Conspiracy wasn't sold out, unfortunately, but that will likely change, once word of mouth gets out. This is exactly the kind of edgy, alternative kind of fare this venue's best suited for.

Before the show, theatergoers are asked to fill out a survey anonymously. (Sample questions: how old were you when you lost your virginity? Where were you? What was your partner's first name? Do you still keep in touch with him/her? If your first sexual partner were here right now, what would you say to him/her?)

The answers are incorporated into the play, and are completely anonymous. Some appear as statistics on a screen above the actors, others are read off of the cards in a round robin.

Director Bill Taylor keeps the pace moving at a good clip.

The quartet of actors do justice to the material. In fact, I was more impressed with them than the actors I've seen in the online clips from the off-Broadway show.

There are many one-liners (some, unfortunately unheard, because the audience was laughing so hard at the previous line.) One complains that "a 30-second commercial lasts longer than I did." Another moans in dismay, "I expected so much more." And one guy boasts that he was "stiffer than Al Gore."

Mr. Cintron is so giddy when retelling one experience you think he's going to jump out of his skin. He also shines as an older man recalling how he lost his virginity in a radio station after it went off the air in the early morning hours. In contrast, Ms. Mitchell is moving as she narrates the story of a woman whose younger brother — still a virgin — is dying of leukemia. Then, she's flirty and unrepentant as a young woman who's sleeping her way through college.

Ms. Endrizzi clothes herself in a variety of personas, from a woman forced by her friends to have sex to a British woman in her 40s who's still a virgin and proud of it. She also tells a tale of sleeping with a man who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. It is one of the more tender stories of the evening.

And Mr. Dunsmore displays both depth and breadth in his numerous roles. He's riveting to watch: vulnerable and winsome as a shy young man having his first sexual experience with another man, then twisted in emotional agony as he recounts how the girl he loved was raped by another man after the prom.

"My First Time," is, in turn, funny, sad, moving, horrifying, poignant. It is also, at times, explicit, making you feel somewhat prurient or voyeuristic.

Is it Theater with a capital T? No. It isn't "The Exonerated" or even "The Vagina Monologues." But it's the drama of our lives, something most everyone can relate to.

It points out the inane things shouted in the heat of the moment. It also doesn't shy away from negative aspects of sex — rape, date rape, incest, pressure to have sex too soon — as well as unwanted consequences: sexual diseases, heartbreak, and unwanted pregnancies.

The play didn't make me feel uncomfortable, but some audience reactions did. A couple people persisted in laughing at a boastful story about a date rape. (The man fancies himself a great seducer, getting a young woman high and drunk, then raping her.) They also laughed at a story of two men's first time together. The first story was horrifying, the second tender, and laughter certainly didn't seem like a fitting response.

It didn't sound like nervous laughter either. It was disconcerting, and ruined the dramatic moments.

There were a few verbal missteps, possibly due to opening night jitters. And I would've liked to have seen the cast treat some of their characters more seriously, particularly the ones who believe in waiting for marriage. Why play them as caricatures? Why not play them seriously as three-dimensional people with deep beliefs?

"My First Time" will probably be one of the hottest tickets around in February.

Even if you don't smoke, you might feel like having a cigarette after sitting through 90 minutes of this non-stop steamy material.

Maybe Bill Taylor should consider handing out cigarettes at the door... or condoms.

If you go

>>What: "My First Time" >>Where: Theatre Conspiracy,

2711 Park Windsor Drive #302,

Fort Myers >>When: through Feb. 28 >>Cost: $22 ($10 for students with ID) >>Info: Call 936-3239 or go to

www.theatreconspiracy.org