Ink

Most people would never, ever tell a stranger about their first time.

Keenan Manuel Ramos is not one of those people.

“I lost my virginity in a Godfather’s (Pizza) parking lot,” Ramos said, laughing.

Ramos is one of four actors starring in the Unicorn Theatre’s first play of the season, “My First Time,” which opens Friday. The play, written by Ken Davenport, is based on first-time-sex stories submitted by real people on myfirsttime.com. The stories run the gamut: steamy, awkward, funny, tragic, poignant, gay, straight and so on.

Ramos, 28, said tackling such racy material was easy for him — after all, he performed naked in “Take Me Out,” a 2004 Unicorn production.

The Unicorn’s artistic director, Cynthia Levin, is directing “My First Time.” She said she chose the play because it was different than anything else out there and she wanted to get people to explore a taboo topic.

Some people need to talk about their first time but they don’t because it’s not exactly cocktail conversation, Levin said.

But audiences who see “My First Time” will have the option to anonymously share their stories. Before the play begins, audience members fill out a 10-question form. The results (the average age when audience members lost their virginity, for example) are tabulated and released later in the show.

“You really feel like you’re part of the play,” Ramos said.

Because there are so many stories told in “My First Time” — between 200 and 300, Levin estimated — each actor has to play at least 50 characters, some of whom have just one line.

“My First Time” actress Lauretta Pope, 29, said playing so many characters and telling so many stories stretched her acting ability. She said one story involving incest is particularly difficult for her to tell because it’s hard for her to relate to that kind of trauma.

“My First Time,” she said, “opens us up to a greater understanding of humanity. It gives us more compassion.”

The play is deep and dark at times, but it’s “cute as hell,” too, Pope said.

Some first-time stories are life-shaking awakenings — just like Pope’s own story.

“I was 23, almost 24,” she said. “What can I say, except that it was a really incredible experience?”

Pope said she grew up believing she’d wait until marriage to have sex. But in her 20s she started to reconsider. She met a guy through theater and hooked up with him, no strings attached.

She said she learned “it was OK to embrace my sexuality.”

The Kansas City production of “My First Time” is a little different than the version now playing off-Broadway. The New York version has the four actors sitting on stools, telling stories for the entire 90 minutes.

In Levin’s version, the actors also re-enact the stories on stage. The set includes a big, messy bed. Just don’t expect to see soft-core porn. The actors keep their clothes on, and there’s no bumping and grinding.

“We’re allowing the audience to take that final step in their own imagination,” Levin said.

“My First Time” runs through Oct. 18. Talkback performances, where you can chat with the director and actors after the show, happen Sept. 29, Oct. 4 and Oct. 6.