Act II Looking for a "Ruff Draft" of What Your Pet is Thinking

Have you always dreamed of being a playwright? Do you have wild ambitions of seeing your work read by professional actors? is here to make your dreams reality with its contest, Ruff Draft!

Bill D'Agostino, Act II’s director of communications and education, created the contest to go along with A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, the play currently running to kick of the start of Act II’s 2011/2012 season. Sylvia is listed on Act II’s website as a “romantic comedy [that] tells the story of a love triangle between a man, his wife—and his dog!”

Because the canine Sylvia in the performance is capable of “speak[ing] and understand[ing] English,” the contest made sense to complement the play, D’Agostino said.

“Why not let kids tell us what they think their pets are thinking about?” he asked.

The whole concept was conceived when D’Agostino was vacationing and visiting the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (Mass MOCA).

“They have a great area where kids make art, and I wanted to have a space in our season for kids to be creative and be recognized for their creativity,” D’Agostino said.

Today is the last day to enter, so think fast! Students of all ages are welcomed to submit short monologues from the viewpoints of their pets to contest@act2.org. Entries should be no shorter than two paragraphs and no longer than two pages.

Think you’re too young to be writing for the main stage? Or are you under the impression you’re too old to be involved in such silly things? You are completely wrong! D’Agostino encourages students from all backgrounds and age groups to submit their work. Submissions have been accepted from grade schoolers and law students alike.

The number of winners is going to depend on how long the winning entries are, since Act II professionals have to fit reading them all into a one-hour session. D’Agostino will be choosing the winners as education director, so be sure to give him your best work! Don’t be afraid to include something to make him smile.

The major draw to entering the contest is a student having his or her work read on stage by professional actors, but there is more! JGray Photography will be offering some of the winners free photo shoots with their pets! Because you can’t exactly bring Fluffy and Fido to the Act II production, their pictures will come in handy when you and a friend go to RUFF DRAFT for free on its performance Saturday, Sept. 17, at 3 p.m., also a perk of winning.

Even if you don’t win, part of the proceeds from this show will be donated to PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), so come out and show your support, regardless!

If you needed more notice or don't have much to say from the viewpoints of your pets, fret not! Act II is getting ready for a similar contest in just a few short months during the holiday season. During Act II’s production of Laughing All the Way, students will be prompted to draft their letters to Santa and have another chance to get their names recognized on the big stage.

Best of luck, young writers!

Correction: Winners of RUFF DRAFT will win tickets to see the students pieces read by professional actors on Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. Tickets to that event are $5.  Winners will not win tickets to see Sylvia, which runs through Oct. 2.