Short+Sweet Illawarra Theatre 2023
MAKING THE WORLD A MORE CREATIVE PLACE - TEN MINUTES AT A TIME
Short+Sweet Illawarra - one of our most respected and successful little festivals - returns for its fifth year under the leadership of experienced Festival Director and Wollongong resident Luke Berman. Short+Sweet Illawarra returns with its Top 20 season of ten-minute theatre, with the best plays as voted by audience and judges advancing to our rejuvinaterd Short+Sweet Sydney Festival in early 2024.
The Illawarra is a known theatre heartland, a rare melting pot of performance artists. Short+Sweet seeks to provide an accessbile platform for everyone to share their stories through Theatre, Film and Cabaret and add to the dynamic creative ecosystem that is thriving in this beautiful part of NSW's south coast.
DIRECTOR REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN | Close 7th May Click here for More Information
GROUP / THEATRE COMPANY SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN | Close 15th July Click here for More Information
ILLAWARRA FESTIVAL SCHEDULE 2023
THEATRE WEEK 1 | 3 - 5 August
THEATRE WEEK 2 | 17 - 19 August
DANCE | 10 - 12 August
FILM | 20 August
CABARET | 25 August
GALA FINAL SHOWCASE | 26 August
ILLAWARRA WEBSITE LINKS
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA THEATRE FESTIVAL / GALA FINAL SHOWCASE | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA FILM FESTIVAL | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA DANCE FESTIVAL | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA CABARET | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA VOICES | CLICK HERE
Festival Enquiries to luke.berman@shortandsweet.org
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SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN | SUBMIT NOW
Thank you for your interest in submitting a play to the Short+Sweet Illawarra Theatre Festival!
Registrations are now open for new and experienced directors to take the helm of one of our shortlisted local and international scripts for Short+Sweet Illawarra 2023.
Directing for Short+Sweet is a fantastic opportunity for new directors to gain experience in producing short-form theatre. It is... read more
Short+Sweet Illawarra Team
EXECUTIVE
Luke Berman | Executive Producer, Festival Director
luke.berman@shortandsweet.org
Tom Peach | Illawarra Literary Manager
literary@blackboxtheatre.org
Bee Louise Pike | Associate Producer
bee.pike@shortandsweet.org
Steen | Venue (Phoenix Theatre Company)
PRODUCTION TEAM
Kate Walker | Lighting Operator / Crew
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE
Mark Cleary | Artistic Director, Short+Sweet International
Vee Malnar | International Literary Manager
Luke Berman | International Coordinator
WRITERS & GROUP (ITC) ENTRIES
GET INVOLVED
There are two main pathways that a script can take to make the stage at Short+Sweet Illawarra. Your script can be in any style you wish, and be about anything you like, the only thing we ask is that it be a play that will run for ten-minutes or less.
SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT
Submitting your script to Short+Sweet not only enters it into consideration for Short+Sweet Illawarra, but it has a chance of being shortlisted for any of our festivals in Australia or around the world, all for the single submission fee, which is $20 AUD. Your script will be assessed by our international committee. If your script is still in draft form or in development or you are not able to pay the entry fee, you can contact Festival Director Luke Berman at luke.berman@shortandsweet.org to submit your script directly to the Illawarra festival. Please note, your script will only be in consideration for the Illawarra festival if you enter in this manner, it will not be sent to other Short+Sweet festivals. SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT HERE
If your script is shortlisted in our Illawarra festival, you will be notified by email and we will make a public announcement. It will be one of the scripts available for our directors to select to produce in the festival this year. This does mean that there is a chance that even if it makes our shortlist, there is a chance it may not make the stage. We will let you know if this occurs, and if we have room available in our festival season, we will allow you time to find yourself a director to include it in the season. We want as many local stories on stage as we can.
Note: If you are an Illawarra writer, be sure to enter an Illawarra residential address or city in your submission so we receive your script. We request all Illawarra scripts submitted be sent to our Illawarra team regardless of its score with the international assessment team. If you have moved abroad, there is a chance we may not receive it.
SUBMIT AS A GROUP (ITC) SUBMISSION
An ITC (Independent Theatre Company) submission is one of the best ways to ensure your script makes the stage at Short+Sweet Illawarra. ITCs were established as a way for established theatre groups/companies to be involved in the festival and operate under their own name, however you do not need to be an established group. To enter as an ITC, you simply need to have a script (or proposed creative concept) and a director, you can just give yourself a group name to operate under during the festival. Hey, you may even choose to keep it and start your own theatre company, it's happened many times before!
You may also include actors in your ITC/Group submission if you wish, or you can opt to cast from the Short+Sweet Illawarra open auditions. Writers can nominate themselves to direct their piece if they wish, but we do encourage writers to work with a director.
There is no submission fee to enter as an ITC, but your script will not be available for selection at other Short+Sweet Festivals. You can submit your ITC/Group piece and also submit your script to the international pool if you wish. Your ITC will be the application we process for the Illawarra festival.
DIRECTORS
Directing for Short+Sweet is one of the most critical roles of the festival. Without our writers there would be no festival, but without directors to realise the writer’s vision, scripts would never be able to come to life!
As a Short+Sweet Illawarra director, you not only get to show your unique leadership style and be intrusted to nurture your team of actors, but you will also be guided and mentored through the entire process of theatre making. Short+Sweet Illawarra's smaller scale allows us to be more hands-on with our newer directors, while our more experienced directors can use their experience to take new risks or creative challenges.
We very much encourage new directors to register and learn a new skill, our Festival Director Luke Berman is passionate about supporting our new directors and will be there to mentor you throughout the process.
What does a director have to do for Short+Sweet?
Choose your play
You wil read through our shortlisted scripts which are made up of local scripts as well as scripts submitted from around the world and nominate which scripts you'd like to direct for the festival. Our Festival Director will then allocate you a script from your list of preferences.
Communicate with your Writer
Writers are a vital part of our family. Once you have been allocated your script, we do ask all directors to contact their writer, and to keep them updated along the way. Some writers may live close to you, but some may be very far away, and it's very important that they feel included as part of the process.
Choose your Actors
We run open auditions where you and our other Short+Sweet directors can find your cast. We also have other tools and resources to assist you to find actors. After the auditions, you are also free to approach actors from outside Short+Sweet to bring into your play, but we do ask that you try to cast from auditions first.
Run your Rehearsals
Directors need to organise their own suitable rehearsal space. This does not need to be a professional rehearsal studio or theatre, many of our directors get very creative with their choice of rehearsal spaces. Often, they approach community halls, churches, or even their living rooms at home. Short+Sweet does not have access to rehearsal spaces, so when you register, this is one of the first things you might want to start planning for.
Complete your Forms
Along the way, we have several technical and publicity forms that we need from you to make sure we have the stage ready for you when the show is live. These forms are spaced out throughout the rehearsal process, this also helps new directors to know when they should start thinking about things like lighting cues, publicity etc. By the end of the process, our directors have had a small crash-course in not only directing, but in producing theatre plays. They will have learned the basic skills required in theatre making.
Enjoy Yourself
Most of all, we want you, your writer, and your cast to thoroughly enjoy your Short+Sweet experience. Be sure to work hard, but always be positive, nurturing, and professional.
THEATRE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA
THEATRE FESTIVAL 2023
SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS
NOW OPEN | Close 23 April
GROUP/ITC SUBMISSIONS
NOW OPEN | Close 15 July
DIRECTOR REGISTRATIONS
NOW OPEN | Close 7 May
ACTOR REGISTRATIONS
OPENING SOON
AUDITIONS
TBA - April / May
THEATRE TECH WEEK 1
31 July - 2 August
THEATRE WEEK 1 Performance
3 - 5 August
THEATRE TECH WEEK 2
14 - 16 August
THEATRE WEEK 2 Performance
17 - 19 August
THEATRE WEEK 1 | 3 - 5 August
THEATRE WEEK 2 | 17 - 19 August
DANCE | 10 - 12 August
FILM | 20 August
CABARET | 25 August
GALA FINAL SHOWCASE | 26 August
ILLAWARRA WEBSITE LINKS
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA THEATRE FESTIVAL / GALA FINAL SHOWCASE | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA FILM FESTIVAL | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA DANCE FESTIVAL | CLICK HERE
SHORT+SWEET ILLAWARRA CABARET SHOWCASE | CLICK HERE