Play Now Act Now June Winners

The house of Play Now Act Now is mounting with excitement. This past June, nine finalists have been confirmed to be a part of the Play Now Act Now grand final in which the first prize winner will leave with $2,000 in cash. Until then, each monthly winner gets a cash prize of $100, so look out for the next competition deadline to get your hands on the loot and to express your artistic self.

June’s Play Now Act Now theme was entitled, ‘Hero To Zero’, and Trespass would like to congratulate Jessica Le and Tia Scott for winning June’s Official Selection and People’s Choice Award in the Digital Design category, respectively. Tia Scott has been one of the most prolific participants this year, and only just missed out on winning both the People’s Choice Award in Digital Design and Microfiction. With only six hours left to deadline, Jessica Le whipped out ‘Wasted Potential’ to snag the winning prize by capturing the essence and concept of June’s theme.

We would also like to express our congratulations to Microfiction winners Erica Lovell (Official Selection winner) and Jason Gray (People’s Choice Award) for their award-winning pieces. Though she only just missed out on winning May’s competition, Erica Lovell bounced back in June with ‘Lucky Will’ to grab the winning prize.

Microfiction

Official Selection Winner: ‘Lucky Will’ by Erica Lovell of Wyoming, NSW

In the corner of a dingy pub that smelled of piss and sex, Christopher (Kitto his nearest and dearest) poured Will a drink.
‘Save it,’ Will said, pushing the cup away.
‘But we’re celebrating!’ Kit urged him.
Kit was a playwright of considerable promise. Everyone knew he was destined for greatness. He was a genius. He was also an alcoholic and sex-addict, but that didn’t matter; that was all grist for the mill.
‘God, you’re a bore,’ said Kit to Will, whose sobriety irritated Kit deep down in that dark, dank place where people secretly hate themselves.
Will was a playwright too, but he wasn’t going anywhere, everyone knew that. He hadn’t even been to university.
Three years later, aged twenty-nine, Kit was stabbed through the eye in a pub-brawl and died.

Lily studied hard for these exams. She even forewent her weekly drinks and smokes with the girls for at least a month. Still, she was nervous. Her thighs stuck to the plastic chair. She picked up a pencil with her clammy hand and began to write.
Essayistic musings on Atwood, Austen and the Brontës poured forth from her pencil. But the big one, the essay she had to nail, was the one about a play called Romeo and Juliet, written by some guy who turned down a drink in a bar 400 years earlier.
Lily didn’t write about Christopher Marlowe because he got himself killed before he could become the English language’s greatest poet.

Lucky Will.

People’s Choice Award: ‘Saturday, 3am’ by Jason Gray of Epping, NSW

saturday, 3am

Rain pounds the bitumen. We walk without umbrellas under streetlights. My black dress, his pink business shirt, are creased, matted to our chests. A strong hand massages my collarbone, sending electricity to my belly. Graceful, at first, then forced, anxious. Both please me. I feel safe; complacent. He’s nothing like Troy. His name is Oliver.
Turning to embrace his lean frame, I look up: full lips curl into a half-smile, honest hazel eyes beg reciprocation. I break away, succumbing to laughter.
Rough wooden planks scrape my feet as I skip down the stairs, shoes hanging by my fingertips. My footprints break the sand. I glance back. His hands are sheathed in the back-pockets of skinny jeans. A long-practiced pose learned from too many walks along the beach in the rain. My eyes narrow; I mock him with a scolding pout.

Inside the small apartment, the girls sleep, intertwined with well-dressed Mr Tonights on the sofa-bed, the unpolished wooden floor. My wet exposed back, his light touches, ignite sensual pleasure. I shiver and grab a tequila bottle from the kitchen bench. We sneak into the back bedroom.

saturday, 9am