{"id":118017,"date":"2026-01-14T17:18:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/118017\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T17:18:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T17:18:06","slug":"no-place-like-homes-unconventional-theater-to-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/118017\/","title":{"rendered":"No place like homes: Unconventional theater to debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

In her one-person play The Pink Unicorn, Elise Forier Edie gives us Trisha Lee, a conservative Texas widow whose monochrome Christian world has been well and truly rocked. Her 14-year-old daughter has announced she is genderqueer, and wants to starts a chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance at school.<\/p>\n

Church elders are horrified. Trisha\u2019s friends are aghast. As for Trisha, well, she loves her child \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is not a perfect person, but she always comes at it from a place of love and curiosity,\u201d says bay area actor Samantha Marti Parisi. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I love most about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parisi plays the mixed-up mom in a St. Pete production of The Pink Unicorn, from Story Keepers, a startup theatrical organization with big ambitions. One of Story Keepers\u2019 goals is site-specific theater \u2013 to that end, the play is being performed in private homes Jan. 15-25, with end-of-month shows at The Studio@620 and The Werk Gallery.<\/p>\n

\u2018We were thinking about: What show meets audiences where they are right now?\u201d explained Story Keepers founder (and Pink Unicorn director) Avery Anderson. \u201cSomething that was very important to everyone on the board was queer stories, and how do we bring something like that to the stage?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then, how do we create an experience that feels so different than what you\u2019re used to \u2013 so that it signifies this is not just another theater company, necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board, which also includes Jos\u00e9 Avil\u00e9s, David DiGioacchino and Julia Rifino, unanimously agreed on Story Keepers\u2019 wide range of goals. \u201cThis was,\u201d Anderson said, \u201cabout creating a company that fosters not only new plays but new musical artists, new digital artists \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of different things.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times, it\u2019s so hard for someone to get their first professional gig. So this is really about, how do we help artists break into new spaces?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mounting The Pink Unicorn in alternative spaces was first on the agenda. It is, said Parisi, not nearly a weepy, confused soccer mom bitch-fest. \u201cIt goes beyond just Trish saying \u2018I don\u2019t understand this all\u2019 and \u2018I\u2019m not sure I can wrap my head around it\u2019 to her dealing with all kinds of crazy people coming at her. She says she\u2019s just trying to put one foot in front of the other, \u2018and get to the point where I understand my child.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson agreed. \u201cShe\u2019s moved on past those moments. She\u2019s done the emotional work, and this is her telling you the story and wanting you to understand things more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The in-home (that is, living rooms and back yards) settings will give Trisha\u2019s cathartic convo the intimate atmosphere that suits the story being told. Explained Parisi: \u201cIf you were a friend or an acquaintance who hasn\u2019t caught up with Trish in a while, and you\u2019re like \u2018I\u2019ve been hearing some things; tell me what\u2019s been going on.\u2019 And Trish is \u2018OK. Let me tell you \u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Parisi, who most recently appeared in the LAB Theater Project productions of Goddess of the Hunt and Per, said that the intimate physicality of The Pink Unicorn required her to re-think her understanding of blocking and stage movement. \u201cMost of the time, I\u2019m seated. Because it can be kind of intimidating having someone standing over you as they\u2019re speaking. And there\u2019s not a lot of room to pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cSitting the entire time should be one of the easier things to do. You\u2019re taking away half of the things for my brain to remember.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, as an actor you kind of get that muscle memory \u2013 \u201cOK, when I cross over here, I will set the cup down and I will say this line.\u2019 That has proven to be a bigger challenge than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The Pink Unicorn\u2019<\/p>\n

Jan 15-16: 541 8th Ave N, St. Pete (performed in the living room)<\/p>\n

Jan 17-18: 6019 8th Ave, St. Pete (performed in the living room)<\/p>\n

Jan 22-23: 3633 28th Ave N, St. Pete (performed in the back yard)<\/p>\n

Jan 24-25: 1701 Oxford St N, St. Pete (performed in the back yard)<\/p>\n

Jan 29-30: The Studio@620 (St. Pete)<\/p>\n

Jan 31-Feb 1: The Werk Gallery (St. Pete)<\/p>\n

Find times, tickets and all other information at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Trisha explains it all: Samantha Marti Parisi in character. Image provided.<\/p>\n

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