5 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

Spillers
Storytelling events have been all the rage the last few years. Unlike many of these happenings that feature writers presenting pieces based on their own real-life experiences, the quarterly event, Spillers: Short Fiction and Tall Drinks features six wordsmiths performing edgy, 10-minute, short fiction stories for the crowd. If you’re into science fiction, erotica, or superheroes, you’ll have to find another story-oriented shindig, as those genres are off-limits for those who get invited to participate. The anecdotal action happens at 8 p.m. on Monday, November 2, at Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second Avenue. Admission is free. Call 602-716-2222 or visit www.crescentphx.com. Amy Young

PHX Loops
Cycling can be intimidating – but all it really requires is a bicycle. At PHX Loops, a weekly ride co-hosted by State Bicycle Co. and PHX Bike, you can start to familiarize yourself with the cycling community while exploring your city and getting comfortable with your bike. Starting at Civic Space Park, 424 North Central Avenue, this ride is open to all bike styles and all ages.

Join the PHX Loops weekly ride at 8 p.m. on Mondays at Civic Space Park. The ride will be 10 to 20 miles long and will include one to three stops. Front and rear lights are required for night riding. Helmets are recommended. For more information, check out bikearizona.com or bikethatazup.com. Katrina Montgomery


Rooftop Dance Series
Dancing reaches new heights, literally, when a group of local choreographers and performers take to roofs around downtown Tempe during the Rooftop Dance Series.

This week’s event rounds out the three-month fall entertainment experiment. Each night is an exercise in collaboration and creativity, featuring different dancers and styles with an emphasis on modern dance. Past performances were led by dancers Molly W. Schenck, whose newest project, “It’s Not That Simple,” is a dance narrative about rape culture across college campuses, and Ashley Baker, founder of All Bodies Dance Collective.

The free half-hour performance starts at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, at the Moonshine Whiskey Bar rooftop, 410 South Mill Avenue in Tempe. This is a rain or shine event. Go to www.facebook.com/events/116985425318044 for more. Janessa Hilliard

Pub Trivia Nerds
Look, you’re probably a chap or lass whose brain is filled with random facts and you’re eager to show off how much you know about everything and nothing. Phoenix’s latest friendly quiz competition, Pub Trivia Nerds, is the perfect way to flex your knowledgeable dominance. Hosted by Space 55 Theatre performer and downtown denizen Ashley Naftule, there’s a way to score even when you’re stumped via his Dumbledore Rule: If you don’t know the answer to a question, you can score half a point with an answer that makes Naftule chuckle.

Pub Trivia Nerds meets at 9 p.m. Wednesday, November 4, at PAZ Cantina, 1011 North Third Street. Admission is free. Visit www.facebook.com/pazcantina for more info. Jose Gonzalez

The Taming
For this season’s Winterfest repertory theater happening, Class 6 Theatre presents, as is its wont, two fascinating, fun works of which we’ll wager you haven’t heard until now. Failure: A Love Story, Philip Dawkins’ adorable play with music about the Fail sisters (three young women who live and love — and die — back in the roaring ’20s), opens on Thursday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Alternating with Failure is The Taming, by Lauren Gunderson, a riff on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew that features divisive politics and a beauty pageant. (Specifically, Miss Georgia locks herself and two partisans in a hotel room to draft a new Constitution.) The shows are helmed by talented local actor-directors David Dickinson and Amanda Noel Trombley. Winterfest continues through Sunday, November 22, at Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street. Tickets for individual performances are $19 to $21. Call 480-644-6500 or visit  www.mesaartscenter.com. Julie Peterson

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