Short + Sweet Theatre

 Short + Sweet Theatre has returned as it does every year, Sydney's largest Short play festival. This year it runs for nine weeks from 8 January to 2 March.

Every night there will be ten or more plays each lasting ten minutes.  Each week there is a new set of plays and at the weekends there are Wildcards! So if you go every week you are in for a new treat.

The festival has a competition element, in that you vote for your favourite two plays. Judges also attend to find the festivals best play, writer, actors, costumes, director etc. The winners come together for a gala night at the end of the festival, which is a great night out and one you shouldn't miss.

The festival opened with quite a mix of eleven plays. There were some that were well written and others that were not. There was actors who evoked a quick rapport with the audience and there were others that you couldn't wait to leave! Each performance had their own sets and costumes. 

I have never yet walked away from a Short + Sweet night disappointed, be careful it is quite addictive and you might find you have to go to every week.  

I am not going to review each play because I could influence your judging! But here is an overview.

Week 1

Reading Lamouche - A play about a play! It really was a bit of a dig at themselves in that actors can take themselves a bit too seriously!

Life lines - should you read a dead persons diary? You can find out what this mother decided to do.

Harrassment - a poor office worker, wrongfully accused of sexual harassment or is he?

Metamorphosis - an eye opening monologue into the life of a young boy who realises he will only be happy as a woman.

Therapist - Does the client fall in love with his therapist or is it the other way round?
Anxiety Game - An anxiety reality TV Game show. Will he win the holiday or just lose all self respect?
Some Other Toy - When customer service almost goes beyond the call of duty when a customer looses her sex toy in a very private place!
Advanced - A museum tour guide is having a personal crises in a public performance to museum patrons
Til Death Do Us Part - A married couple find themselves on their way to heaven or hell. Now they are there and Death Do Us Part, do they part or stay together?
Un Faustian - A Jewish actor has a life or death decision to make.
The Ultimate Reality Contest - To what lengths will TV go to entertain us?

So as you can see from the short synopsis of each play they are all quite different. I did wonder why they put two game shows into the same week as they were a little to similar in theme, but then again I don't know what is coming up in the remaining weeks!

Week Two will start on Wednesday 15 January at the King Street Theatre.

For more information on Short + Sweet go to their website - www.shortandsweet.org

Short + Sweet Cabaret is also happening at the New Theatre for two week's followed by Short + Sweet Dance. It is all happening in Newtown!

(Photos accredited to Sylvi Soe - Third Tree Creative)

Short and Sweet Launch

3,2,1 LAUNCH! Short+Sweet Sydney 2014 Festival Launch Dance, Cabaret, Theatre Wed 11 Dec, 6:30-8pm @ Seymour Centre Courtyard Corner of City Road and Cleveland Street, Chippendale. FREE ENTERTAINMENT FREE FOOD (personally catered by our Theatre Festival Director) FIRST RELEASE OF FESTIVAL PROGRAM Singer/entertainment Wanted There is still one space available for anyone who can play a few songs at the launch. If you're interested emailpete@shortandsweet.org and send a link with your music if you have it online.

The Monologue Project Presents (extra) ordinary, (un) usual

The Monologue Projects are award winning monologues by Pete Malicki. The are about ordinary people telling extraordinary stories or extraordinary people who are trying to be ordinary. Are they interesting and entertaining? Most certainly!

Producer of The Monologue Project, Pete Malicki, says,
"There is a serious lack of contemporary material out there for actors, particularly high school students, who often struggle to find a relevant monologue for their exams. My aim as both a writer and producer is to showcase excellent monologues which will captivate and entertain regular theatregoers and newcomers alike, as well as create opportunities for established and next-generation actors to perform great monologues and build their professional careers."

The performance had seven actors and eight monologues.
It starts with Eliza St John and a monologue V.D., she returns at the end to finish of the night.  V.D. is a comic monologue, it starts off as a look into Valentines Day and the feelings you get when you have an unknown admirer, however it ends on a more serious subject. I won't say what because if you should ever see it I will have ruined in end.
Jessica Heath - Frenemy who is currently an HSC student and is very talented. This was quite a disturbing monologue which tackled some issues that some would not dare.
Charlotte Connor - Screams and Whispers another comical monologues, is she a horse whisperer or not?
Scott Grimpley - A Psychopath, no you wouldn't want to meet him down an dark alley.
Nat Backhouse - Dragula another very funny monologue on really, the best way to pick up women! Rosemary Ghazi - The Flowers, Rosemary is a very good actress and this monologue is very well done and written.
And finally Sarah North - Shallow, Quick which was less memorable than the others.

All in all it was a great night out. Sadly is was only on for two nights. Hopefully Pete will bring it back with more hilarious monologues. Keep an eye on their website - www.monologues.com.au

Short + Sweet 2013

Short and Sweet has returned to Sydney for it's annual short play festival. Every year, writers, actors and directors do battle in Short and Sweet. The audience votes for the 10 minute play they enjoyed the most, that evening.  The best of the best is then shown at the Gala Final and Awards Night at the end of March.

Week one has just concluded and we now await the results.  There were eleven plays, however you could only vote for 2 of 10 as Pete Malicki's play Checkout was not eligible, as the Festival Director, if he won, everyone would be a little skeptical of the result. 

Checkout opened the night and the festival. Four actors all played the same character, Corinne, on the stage at the same time.  Corinne works on the Supermarket checkout and she is more than a little put out by the recent introduction of the 'self' checkout computers.  It is a very funny but poignant piece, highlighting the job losses and missed opportunities as people become replaced by machines.

Then came 10 short plays -
Emergency Exit Aisle by Will North.  A young couple who had been traveling together, like so many, end up splitting up. They now have to sit together on their flight back home. It is a turbulent ride in more ways than one!

Deceit by Uma Kali Shakti. Who is cheating on who? This was very predictable.

Handyman by Kerry Bowden. Emily Kivilcin tells a tale of how she fell in love with Simon the handyman at Bunning Warehouse. All is going well until she discovers that he is giving maintenance to more than just houses! Emily gave a great solo performance.

Clean Break by Tom Jensen. Again it was quite predictable, a story about a wedding day breakup.

My Name is Cine-Ma by Athivanan Rajendran. This was an ITC winner of Short and Sweet in Chennai, Mumbai and KL and you could tell, it was so different and extremely well choreographed.

 The Fox and the Hunter - Mr Albright a hunter invites Mr Fox to his lodge to try to persuade him to let him kill him! He has been trying for years, killed all Mr Foxes wives and girlfriends but can't catch him. This was well done and again very funny.

G by Miranda Drake. Miranda also directed G and was the only cast member.  She plays several characters all of whom reflect on having more than ample breasts.  I have a feeling this will not win even though this was good and was certainly a great achievement for Miranda.

I know, I know by Grant J Venables. A son and father both have issues and neither can help the other. This was not the best play of the night and I have to say I got very confused!

Team Building Activity by Phillip Gallop. Four workmates have to complete a team building task and as usual they are rather reluctant!

Do Not Dusturb by Robert Sharpe concluded the night. Set in an old peoples home, where an elderly resident is getting more than just the usual room service!

It was a great night of short plays, there will always be those that you like and those that you didn't. Some will be well constructed, rehearsed and acted and there will be those that are not quite so polished.  The biggest challenge is remembering one from the other and can you name all ten when you leave the theatre?

Week Two will commence on Wednesday - go, you will have a great night and you will want to go back to see more. Will you pick the winner?

Find out more and buy your tickets

Room

Written by Pete Malicki, Directed by Alison Albany

Where: Italian Cultural Forum, Leichhardt

When: 12^th-29^th of September

$25/$20

www.sydneyfringe.com

Reviewed by Lana Hilton

I have a love/hate relationship with plays that I find a little slow and without a clear purpose to begin with, but then finish on such a high I am left replaying it over in my mind hours later!

This was one of those productions.

“Room” follows the story of five strangers who wake trapped in a room with no recollection of how and why they are there. The stage is minimalistic, the clothing plain and there are no special lighting or sound effects; this gives the realistic impression that this could happen in ordinary life, to ordinary people, like you and me.

Each character has their own very believable insecurities which the actors portray exceedingly well. There is the Gen-Y joker, the horror-movie loving conspiracy theorist, the sensible and caring mother, the ‘has issues’ commander and the young and innocent girl.

Sounds just like someone you know, right?

The first half is a little slow as the characters go through the paces of anger, confusion and sadness. There is lots of yelling which is intermittently interrupted when poisonous gas leaks into the room causing them all to fall asleep.

This somewhat repetitive cycle is broken as soon as the lights go up on the second half. The audience is thrust forward four months and we find the characters healthy, happy and some even taking on different personas. In order to adapt to their messed-up psychological experiment, the two men and three women have decided that expressing themselves creatively is the key to surviving their situation.

In fantastic soap opera style they perform skits, have accents and have the audience in fits of laughter; but beneath it all is a deeper meaning. Look at what they have succumbed to in order to survive. Look at what they have become. It might appear amusing but slowly their mental states are dwindling and soon they can’t remember who they are anymore.

This play explores human reactions to ridiculous circumstances and poses questions as to what might arouse within us if we had no choice. A scary thought.

Go and see it and be prepared to lose sleep over it.

Short and Sweet

Short and Sweet - Sydney's Short play festival, 180 plays showing from 4 January until 31 March. The Festival involves 300 writers and directors and almost 500 actors. This year is it's 11th year, it has seen amazing growth and following over those years.
The Festival starts with a call out to writers and Independent Theatre Companies to submit their works, these are then assessed and the plays for the Festival are carefully chosen. Directors are then invited to choose which play they would like to produce and finally the actors are auditioned and the rehearsals commence. Of course that sounds easy but can you image organising that many plays, with that many actors, the lighting, sound, props and staging?
Each week shows 10 plays and each night the audience is invited to pick the two which they enjoyed the most. The audience votes are tallied and the top two for the week are showcased in the Peoples Choice night.

The King Street Theatre (formerly the Newtown Theatre), Newtown was a buzz of excitement as the audience anticipated a night of mini performances; which of them would we love and which we would gladly never see again? We burst through to the stage to grab a seat and settle into the night.

Interview with Pete Malicki

Pete Malicki is the Festival Director of Short and Sweet Sydney. Short and Sweet has been running for 11 year's and is the world biggest short play festival. Each night see 10 plays each lasting 10 minutes. The Festival starts on 4 January and runs into March.

For more information and book click the title of the post.

Click here to listen

The interview took place on Triple H 100.1 fm on The Hubbub.

(please note the link will become inactive in about 3 months time, call 02 99403649 if you would like to listen)