What is it?
Short+Sweet New Zealand brings you festivals of ten minute theatre, dance and song. The Short+Sweet Festival Auckland presents a 4 week season featuring over 35 plays, 40 dance pieces and 10 short musicals. Each rendition of the festival features the collaboration of over 50 directors, 40 playwrights, 40 choreographers, 10 composers and close to 300 performers… all volunteers!
A night at Short+Sweet consists of the audience seeing ten pieces, each of which is no longer than ten-minutes. It is a night in the theatre where you never quite know what is coming next. You are presented with a feast of styles and subjects, and the next piece is only ever ten minutes away. At the end the audience are asked to vote for their favourite prompting the show to conclude with a foyer filled with discussion and debate.
Our Points Of Difference.
Short+Sweet is open access and culturally inclusive, and with its ten-minute format in all genres, seeks to return ownership of that vital story telling ability to the community. As such, it is a highly democratic approach to the making and presenting of art. It does not distinguish between the emerging and the professional, welcoming both to its ranks and using the skills and experience of one to inform the enthusiasm of the other, while harnessing the passion of both.
The formula is simple. The ten-minute format is constant. Public solicitation of work ensures a huge response and broad representation, in whatever genre, in whatever society. The selection process is devolved to regional and local decision-making. Within global artistic guidelines local forms and local sensibilities can flourish. However, the international network allows a broader vision and practice The self-produced shows are always the building blocks. No aesthetic is imposed other than simplicity and the logistics of the physical situation. Telling the story, in whatever art form, is the paramount consideration.
The Biggest Little Play Festival In The World
This simple format, started in Sydney in 2002 and Melbourne at the Arts Centre in 2006 (after a Shorter+Sweeter season in 2005) with text-based theatre seasons, has spread throughout Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle, Townsville, Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Regional NSW, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Central Coast) and now has migrated to New Zealand and South East Asia with festivals in Auckland, India (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang), Dubai, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. It has also been successfully adapted to other performing arts in festival formats which are similarly being replicated in other countries.
Now in Aotearoa
The first Short+Sweet Theatre festival in New Zealand was presented in January of 2010 and has become an annual fixture in Auckland’s performing arts calendar. In 2012 the first Short+Sweet Dance Festival was presented in January and is now part of the annual presentation. Short+Sweet Song join the family in 2013 with a tester season and is now a full component of the Short+Sweet Festival Auckland.
Short+Sweet Theatre is the oldest component of the Short+Sweet Festival Auckland made up of bite sized plays, never more than ten minutes long. From comedy to physical theatre, deep drama to superheroes, we’ve got it all and perfectly packaged to keep you interested. And its only ever minutes to the next one!
To date, the Festival has produced hundreds of the best ten minute plays from across the globe produced by some of the most talented local actors and directors. As well as presenting some of the best ten-minute theatre on the planet Short+Sweet has also helped to launch the careers of many actors, writers and directors.
Short+Sweet Song is the all singing edition of Short+Sweet (the world’s biggest little play festival). Perfectly packed mini musicals, each one no longer than ten minutes.
Brand new in Auckland this year, some of our brightest talents come together to take you on a journey around the musical theatre world. From rock to opera. From serious drama to seriously funny. And all in 10 minutes each.
Short+Sweet Dance presents short works across contemporary, hip hop, cultural, dance theatre, belly dancing, burlesque and much more – Short+Sweet Dance has a little something for everyone in bite-sized performances. It’s simple, really. All genres, all styles, all abilities, but with one little rule – no dance over 10 minutes!
Short+Sweet Dance features new dance works from some of New Zealand’s hottest emerging and established dance practitioners. Fast-paced and incredibly dynamic, Short+Sweet is dance with a difference!