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Spencer Williams, 10, adores his pets — four cats, a dog and an iguana — so when he sat down to write a story for Greensboro Opera’s 2011 Write Your Own Opera! contest, those much-loved animals immediately came to mind.

He based his characters on them, creating an imaginative story about five pets who argue over who is the favorite while their owner, Cody, is at work.

“They each have a song where they list the reasons they should be the favorite,” Spencer said.

Spencer’s creativity was recognized earlier this month when his piece, “The Fight to be Favorite,” won first place in the Greensboro Opera’s 2011 contest. A total of 102 entries from eight Guilford County private and public schools were received.

Spencer’s piece will be crafted into a libretto by David Holley, director of the Opera Theatre at UNCG, and set to music. The 10-minute opera will be performed in February at Opera at the Carolina, an event that allows more than 6,000 Guilford County fifth-graders to see a shortened version of an opera.

“I’m really excited,” Spencer said. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard I had won.”

The son of Quentin and Jennifer Williams of Greensboro and a rising fifth-grader at General Greene Elementary School, Spencer wrote his winning piece as part of an assignment in his language arts class.
“Spencer is a brilliant student with creative ideas,” fourth-grade language arts teacher Rachel Harrison said. “I think winning this contest gives him confidence; how could you not feel good about yourself when you are one person chosen out of so many?”

The characters in Spencer’s story include a German shepherd dog named Thunder, a lizard named Drake, an African gray parrot named Sissy, a black hamster with a tuft of orange fur on top named Astro and a cat named Oscar.

“I named the cat after Oscar, the best cat I ever had,” Spencer said. “I still get teary-eyed when I think about him.
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Barbara Peters, executive director of Greensboro Opera, was impressed with Spencer’s creativity.

“Spencer’s story was a stick-out,” she said. “His characters include several delightful animals, each with a distinct personality, and their 'talk’ was cleverly conceived in rhyming, rhythmic verse.”
Peters liked that the story is upbeat and humorous and that the pet owner has the last say

“The verselike banter of each animal is singularly entertaining,” she said. “Spencer’s characters also present wonderful possibilities for animal-like voices, colorful costumes and props.”

Spencer, who is in the academically gifted program at school, said he loves to write as well as illustrate, and he enjoys reading. He’s currently reading Homer’s “Odyssey.”

“Science is my favorite subject in school,” he said. “I love electricity and circuits.”

He won second place in the school science fair in third-grade and participates in Lego League.

Spencer is spending his summer playing on his iPod and taking care of the 40 to 50 tadpoles he saved from his grandmother’s swimming pool.

“I have them in a 10-gallon tank, and I’ll release them into the wild when they learn to hop,” he said energetically. He also has a bug house and is taking care of an injured frog.

Looking to the future, Spencer said he wants to be either a bioscientist or herpetologist, a scientist who studies reptiles and amphibians.

“I’m really interested in reptiles and want to work with my best friend, Caleb, who’s crazy about reptiles,” he said. He also wants to discover why sharks are resistant to cancer so he can develop a cure.

Contact Jennifer Atkins Brown at 574-5582 or jennifer.brown@news-record.com