Short Stories

Pisces and Quiet

You’ve seen the v ira l YouTube v ideo. Some aquar ium, somewhere, a secur it y camera capt ures an octopus slipping f rom its tank af ter hours, slink ing across the floor like some k ind of shape-shif ting a lien, then dipping into a nearby tank to snack on, say, an exotic fish. In this scenar io, the Pisces is, indeed, the fish. A nd here’s the thing: T hey asked the octopus if it were hung r y. Selfless to a fault, Pisces are the ultimate mar t y rs of the zodiac. But there are bet ter, hea lthier ways to inv ite at tention. Music, for instance. Quinc y Jones, Josh Groban, Nina Simone and Er yk a h Badu? A ll Pisces. Dit to R ihanna, Kur t Cobain and Smokey Robinson. Take it f rom the g reats: Find a way to channel your fathomless sea of emotions before it gets the best of you. Because life is far more interesting thank s to your ver itable brand of over-the-top drama.

O.Henry’s 10 for 10

Have you heard? As announced in our Januar y issue, O.Henry is hosting a shor t stor y contest for our 10 -year anniversar y. And that’s an emphasis on short. Tell us a stor y in 10 words. For inspiration, look up the famous 6 -word novel attributed to Heming way. Guidelines are simple. Using the subject line “O.Henry’s 10 for 10,” submit your shor t stor y — one per entrant, please! — by email to ohenr yturns10@gmail. com. Deadline: May 1, 2021. Winning entries will be published in our anniversar y issue. Bonus points for pulling of f an O.Henr y t wist.

And speak ing of our Januar y issue . . . If you were wondering who painted the hauntingly quirk y “Madam” por trait featured on our cover (photo contributed by V IV ID Interiors), that would be Greensboro’s own Kevin Rutan, owner of Fe Fi Faux. Find him on Instagram @kr utan2018.

It’s Play Time

Here’s t wo for you. First, UNCG’s School of T heatre presents George Ber nard Shaw’s Saint Joan, inspired by one of the most heroic, mystica l and misunderstood teenage g irls to have ever wa lked the E ar th. On- demand streaming is available f rom March 18–20, w ith a Frame/ Work s Discussion held v ia Zoom on Monday, March 22, 7 p.m. Tickets are $5. Box Of fice: (336) 334 - 4392. Info: uncg theatre. com. Joan’s ta le tips the sca le toward sear ingly trag ic. But it’s nothing a lit tle dystopian comedy can’t remedy. March 24–27, at 7:30 p.m., Greensboro College T heatre presents East ern St andard. Set in 1987, this R ichard Greenberg r ib tick ler was a k nockout at New York ’s famed Manhat tan T heatre Club and, later, a Broadway hit. T his rev iew f rom T he New York Times in 1988: “For anyone who has been waiting for a play that tells what it is like to be more or less middle- class, more or less young and more or less well-intentioned in a f r ightening cit y at this moment in this time zone, East ern St andard at long last is it.” Per for mances are f ree to the public. Face mask s required. Greensboro College T heatre, 815 W. Market St., Greensboro. Tickets: (336) 272 -7102 (extension 5242). Info: w w w.g reensboro.edu /theatre.