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Shall we KISS, Manila? Australian play festival keeps it ‘Short + Sweet’
The organizers of the Short + Sweet festival. Photos courtesy of Vaishali Ray and Divya Rajan-Sriram
The buzz word was KISS—keep it short and sweet!—at the press launch for Short + Sweet, Australia’s (and the world's) biggest little play festival last week at the Australian Embassy.
In the Philippines, it will be held at UP Diliman's Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater from February 26 to March 9.
The Short + Sweet theater festival and competition began in Sydney 11 years ago, featuring plays with a running time of only 10 minutes each.
Founder and executive director Mark Cleary said that it’s their one unbreakable rule: No play should last longer than 10 minutes.
Because of this, the audience gets to see 20 or more plays.
Cleary joked that the good thing about Short + Sweet is that if you don’t like a particular play, you just have to sigh, keep it in, wait a bit, and then it’s over.
“There's no cumbersome set and costume change. One play leaves the stage and another one enters and it's only 30 seconds, maybe a minute between plays,” he said.
Apart from Short + Sweet's flagship festival in Sydney, the festival is also held throughout Australia including in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Gold Coast.
The festival has also been held in India (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) New Zealand (Auckland), United Arab Emirates (Dubai), and Singapore.
Short + Sweet festival in PHL
For the first Short + Sweet Manila, 28 plays will be hosted by UP Diliman.
The first set of plays will be staged from February 26 to March 2, and the second set of 14 plays will be performed from March 4 to 8.
Short + Sweet Manila was organized by Vaishali Ray and Divya Rajan-Sriram with the support of UP Diliman's College of Arts and Letters, particularly Dean Elena Rivera Mirano and Professor Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete.
The best five from each set will be selected by a jury and an audience poll. The top 10 will then compete during the grand finale on March 9 (3:00 p.m. onwards). There will be awards for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and others.
Platform for emerging talents
In the Philippines, it will be held at UP Diliman's Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater from February 26 to March 9.
The Short + Sweet theater festival and competition began in Sydney 11 years ago, featuring plays with a running time of only 10 minutes each.
Founder and executive director Mark Cleary said that it’s their one unbreakable rule: No play should last longer than 10 minutes.
Because of this, the audience gets to see 20 or more plays.
Cleary joked that the good thing about Short + Sweet is that if you don’t like a particular play, you just have to sigh, keep it in, wait a bit, and then it’s over.
“There's no cumbersome set and costume change. One play leaves the stage and another one enters and it's only 30 seconds, maybe a minute between plays,” he said.
Apart from Short + Sweet's flagship festival in Sydney, the festival is also held throughout Australia including in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Gold Coast.
The festival has also been held in India (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) New Zealand (Auckland), United Arab Emirates (Dubai), and Singapore.
Short + Sweet festival in PHL
Short + Sweet finds emerging talent and gives them a platform to show the world what they've got.
The first set of plays will be staged from February 26 to March 2, and the second set of 14 plays will be performed from March 4 to 8.
Short + Sweet Manila was organized by Vaishali Ray and Divya Rajan-Sriram with the support of UP Diliman's College of Arts and Letters, particularly Dean Elena Rivera Mirano and Professor Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete.
The best five from each set will be selected by a jury and an audience poll. The top 10 will then compete during the grand finale on March 9 (3:00 p.m. onwards). There will be awards for Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and others.
Platform for emerging talents
Play rehearsal.
Cleary noted that Short + Sweet has become a good platform for emerging artists to showcase their talents.
Asked what his favorite play has been so far considering that they receive so many scripts (around 3,000 a year), Cleary said he had none.
“Seriously, they're so different,” he said, but added that he likes “plays that are funny” and those that “engage the audience.”
Festival director Rajan-Sriram said that they look at factors such as characterization and story when considering which plays to put on.
“Theater is a chance for us to tell our stories and Short + Sweet is a great opportunity for storytelling,” said Cleary. And Short + Sweet, he added, tells about 8,000 stories every year. “We've got more plays than any other company in the world.”
'Bring your talent'
Asked how he thinks Short + Sweet would affect the Philippine cultural scene, Cleary said he hopes it will bring out fresh talent as the festival is an open platform where everyone is welcome to participate.
“Bring your talent, basically. If you have talent then you're welcome to Short + Sweet,” he said. “Many different theater groups stick often to themselves and this is a chance for them to come out of their own castle, if you like, and come to a different territory and get to meet each other because it's by dialogue and communications where things really grow.”
He recounted how Short + Sweet started small but eventually grew into a big, international festival with the help of the Internet.
Through emails, their small theater company managed to reach “hundreds and hundreds of people” at once. “It just made the biggest difference in the world,” he said.
He hoped that social networking would have the same effect in the Philippines.
Ray, Short + Sweet's producer in the Philippines, said they were pleased that some of the plays submitted to them by the Filipinos were of international quality.
Cleary welcomed the chance to stage plays written by Filipinos. “The plays that are written by local Filipinos will say the most, I think,” he said. “It gives you the chance to speak about your culture and your community and speak about anything you want to say.” — BM, GMA News
Short + Sweet Manila 2014 will be held at UP Diliman, Quezon City from February 26 to March 9. The first set of 14 plays will be staged from Feb. 26 to March 2, and the second set of plays from March 4 to 8, both from 7:00 p.m. onwards.
The ticket prices are: P300 (regular), P250 (for bulk purchases, minimum of 10 tickets), and P200 (for UP Diliman students and faculty).
The price of the Grand Finale tickets is P350 each.
For ticket purchasing, contact Ysmael at 0917-392-4017 or jycmendoza@gmail.com and Alexis at 0917-899-7013 or ammbartolome@gmail.com.
Asked what his favorite play has been so far considering that they receive so many scripts (around 3,000 a year), Cleary said he had none.
“Seriously, they're so different,” he said, but added that he likes “plays that are funny” and those that “engage the audience.”
Festival director Rajan-Sriram said that they look at factors such as characterization and story when considering which plays to put on.
“Theater is a chance for us to tell our stories and Short + Sweet is a great opportunity for storytelling,” said Cleary. And Short + Sweet, he added, tells about 8,000 stories every year. “We've got more plays than any other company in the world.”
'Bring your talent'
Short + Sweet's organizers confer with participants.
“Bring your talent, basically. If you have talent then you're welcome to Short + Sweet,” he said. “Many different theater groups stick often to themselves and this is a chance for them to come out of their own castle, if you like, and come to a different territory and get to meet each other because it's by dialogue and communications where things really grow.”
He recounted how Short + Sweet started small but eventually grew into a big, international festival with the help of the Internet.
Through emails, their small theater company managed to reach “hundreds and hundreds of people” at once. “It just made the biggest difference in the world,” he said.
He hoped that social networking would have the same effect in the Philippines.
Ray, Short + Sweet's producer in the Philippines, said they were pleased that some of the plays submitted to them by the Filipinos were of international quality.
Cleary welcomed the chance to stage plays written by Filipinos. “The plays that are written by local Filipinos will say the most, I think,” he said. “It gives you the chance to speak about your culture and your community and speak about anything you want to say.” — BM, GMA News
Short + Sweet Manila 2014 will be held at UP Diliman, Quezon City from February 26 to March 9. The first set of 14 plays will be staged from Feb. 26 to March 2, and the second set of plays from March 4 to 8, both from 7:00 p.m. onwards.
The ticket prices are: P300 (regular), P250 (for bulk purchases, minimum of 10 tickets), and P200 (for UP Diliman students and faculty).
The price of the Grand Finale tickets is P350 each.
For ticket purchasing, contact Ysmael at 0917-392-4017 or jycmendoza@gmail.com and Alexis at 0917-899-7013 or ammbartolome@gmail.com.
