Newport Traveling Actors On DIY's Tiny House, Big Living TV Show

NEWPORT, RI — Tiny Traveling Theatre, a performance nonprofit from Newport, will be featured on an episode of the DIY Network’s “Tiny House, Big Living” this Thursday at 9 p.m.

The show highlights people living in tiny, portable houses and how they make the small spaces a unique part of their lifestyle. The show is currently in its eighth season.

The description for Thursday's episode on the DIY Network's website reads: “A pair of young traveling actors build the perfect tiny home for life on the road. Their vision includes a storage loft that doubles as a reading nook, a convertible sofa and a pullout stage with a trapdoor.”

The theater group is run by Nora Eschenheimer and Jesse Dufault. Their nonprofit travels in a 160-square foot mobile venue to areas affected by natural disasters and other tragedies nationwide. Their inspiration came from seeing traveling groups performing for similar reason in other parts of the world.

"The initial concept for the Tiny Traveling Theatre began to develop when we heard stories of a clown troupe traveling to Syrian refugee camps within Europe with the goal of putting smiles on the faces of children and adults," the group wrote on their website.

Eschenheimer told Newport Daily News she hopes to bring that same joy to children going through these horrible disasters even if it's just for a short period of time.

"In a less profound way, I hope to be able to achieve that (joy) with the Tiny Traveling Theatre — to be able to give kids a form of escapism when things are hard and they need something to smile at,” Eschenheimer said.

After the initial airing, the episode is on again Thursday at midnight and Friday, Oct. 12, at 12:30 p.m.

Photo credit: Tiny House Expedition/Shutterstock