The mystic ponders the ancient texts.

Here are some photos of Darlene Fedele and Todd Ristau doing a staged reading of my short script “The Ancient Texts of Love” at No Shame Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia on Feb. 15, 2013. It’s a three-minute (or so) piece in which a woman seeks help from a mystic to cure her love life.

Unfortunately, the ancient text he consults is “snips and snails and puppy dog tails.”

No Shame is a weekly open-mic venue for original performance; the Roanoke one is just one of many around the country.

The mystic advises that he needs escargot. “In the vernacular, snails.”

The mystic’s robe began its life as a Jedi costume at Halloween for my son.