I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read Cheryl Strayed’s book “Tiny Beautiful Things.”

I’d wager it’s been four or five. And last week, after speaking with Craig Brauner, president and founding member of Ellipse Theatre Community, it was time to read it again.

Brauner directs ETC’s upcoming production, “Tiny Beautiful Things,” based on the national bestseller, a collection of advice columns penned by Strayed under the pen name Sugar for The Rumpus, an online literary magazine.

The columns disregard the code many advice columnists follow of focusing on the letter writer while refraining from mentioning the details of their personal lives. Strayed does the opposite. Her humanity is laid bare through her advice, with intimate details of her own lived experiences and trauma.

Brauner said Strayed likely felt that she should present her deepest, truest self in response to the raw tales of romance, grief, money and family troubles shared by the letter writers, with the hope it may help them on their path to healing.

“A lot of her writing is confessional, vulnerable and embraces what she would call radical empathy,” Brauner said.

Intimate stories of love and loss

Strayed’s No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “Wild,” was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon. “Tiny Beautiful Things” has also been adapted for the screen, with a Hulu series of the same name. The latter was adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, who wrote and starred in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” for which she earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.

“This is not a play of fiction. It’s a play of actual, real life,” Brauner said, of “Tiny Beautiful Things.”

All letters in the script are based on those written to Sugar. As a result, the show delicately balances humor with heart, he said.

“It’s all about human connection. And it’s the things that we can all relate to. We all experience love. We all experience loss. We all experience hurt,” he said. “There are going to be people in the audience that have dealt with some of the themes that the show talks about, be it a failed relationship or a loss of a child or even humorous things… I like multiple people, which one do I need to date?”

Emily Cady performs the role of Sugar, with four other actors — Amy Anderton, Nicholas Boragno, Carlie Clippinger, and Whitney Garner — portraying 20 or more letter writers each, individuals who are grappling with love, loss, healing and connection.

Show travels Central Oregon

In an attempt to capitalize on the show’s intimate nature, Brauner has seated audiences in the round, a style which places spectators on all four sides of the stage in a brightly lit space, with the play taking place in the center. While witnessing actors display the vulnerabilities of the letter writers, audience members may also witness other spectators experiencing the show across the stage.

“As the director, I really wanted to capitalize on the intimate nature of the show,” Brauner said. “I just want people to feel something. Whether it’s humor or a sense of being seen or seeing themselves represented in the performance, ultimately, I want them to feel connected.”

ETC premieres “Tiny Beautiful Things” Friday at Open Space Event Studios. After additional performances on Saturday, it will travel to Redmond, Sisters and Prineville, before returning to OSU-Cascades in Bend for the final three productions on May 30 and 31. It’s traveling across Central Oregon as part of the nonprofit theater company’s Roadshow Program and mission to make theater accessible to all.

The Tiny Beautiful Letter Project

In conjunction with the theatrical production and inspired by Strayed’s book, ETC is running the Tiny Beautiful Letter Project. The project is accepting anonymous letters that explore themes of love, loss, resilience, connection and vulnerability through a form on its website.

“The letters I’ve received so far have been very vulnerable, very human. It’s interesting to read these words from somebody that I may never meet, but they’re sharing their deepest, truest self. It’s very moving,” Brauner said. He has received letters from beyond Oregon, post-stamped from California, Montana, Indiana and Texas.

The deadline to submit an anonymous letter for the project is May 19. The project culminates May 28, when some letters will be read aloud in front of an audience at Scalehouse Gallery.

Note: This production includes discussions of sexual assault, miscarriage, loss of a child, drug abuse, suicide, death and profane language.

If You Go

What: Ellipse Theatre Community presents “Tiny Beautiful Things”

Details:

• Open Space Event Studios, 220 NE Lafayette Ave., Bend; 7 p.m Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday
• High Desert Music Hall, 818 SW Forest Ave., Redmond; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday
• Sisters Firehouse Community Hall, Sisters, 301 S Elm St., Sisters; 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 17
• Bowman Museum, 246 N Main St., Prineville; 2 p.m. May 18
• Tykeson Hall, OSU Cascades, 1500 SW Chandler Ave., Bend; 7 p.m. May 30, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. May 31

Cost: $20 online plus fees or $20 at the door

Contact: etcbend.org