Short + Sweet is a competition, based on 10-minute works of theatre, that encourages the participation of writers, directors and performers from the community to explore their creativity in a supportive professional environment. Short + Sweet is held annually at the Arts Centre.

Short + Sweet starts with call for scripts from writers around Australia, followed by auditions with actors and interviews with director, and culminates in performances of 50 of the chosen works.

Short + Sweet has helped launch and further the careers of countless theatre professionals - writers, directors, actors, designers and technicians - and lifted the profile of many independent theatre ensembles.

AIMS OF SHORT + SWEET
* To encourage excellence in the presentation of short scripts that can stimulate, move and entertain audiences
* To showcase the work of aspiring writers, actors and directors and to give new talent an opportunity to surface with an emphasis on Australian artists.
* To make theatre more accessible and affordable to a wider audience.
* To inspire theatre practitioners of the future to better their artistic practice
* To encourage active participation in theatre making by aspiring writers, directors and performers in a supportive environment thus foster growth in the theatre.

SHORT + SWEET OVER THE YEARS

2008

You may have noticed the small change in the way we write Short + Sweet (no &&&) and the look of our Babushka will be bang-up-to-date...but, we have also decided to keep the focus on our own shores and will only be including Australian entries in 2008. Another exciting development is a week dedicated to Independent Theatre Ensembles. One of the Independent Ensembles will win a week of full development supported by the Full Tilt program to grow their production into a full length show! Watch this space!

2007
The 2007 competition opened in April and more than 1100 scripts were received from Australia and around the world. After the rigorous short-listing process, the final 60 works were performed in the competition held at the Arts Centre, Fairfax Studio from 5 - 22 December 2007.

The predominent themes made for a veritable menagerie, with an all-sort mix of goldfish, skewered pigs, ducks, leeches, lobsters and even the neighbour of the beast...

In response to feedback from the previous year there was no separate Gala Final in 2007 as participants felt that perhaps too much emphasis was placed on the Gala Final to the detriment of the rest of the season. Instead, Judges attended all programs of both Top 30 and Wildcards and the winners were announced following the evening performances on 22 December

2006
In 2006 we received 815 entries for the competition. There were a wide variety of themes for the plays, but most notable were scripts about relationships, sex and Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Due to the sell-out success of the 2005 competition, the 2006 competition moved to a much bigger venue at the Arts Centre - the Fairfax Studio. The season was a huge success with strong attendances for all show. A new development for Short +Sweet was filming of the Gala Final by the Movie Network. The 10 Gala Final works were screened on the Movie Network in March 2006

2005
In 2005 Melbourne got in on the act for the first time with Short + Sweet being produced and presented by the Arts Centre. Over 800 scripts were received for the competition and the selected works for the competition in November/December 2005 were a huge success performing to sell-out audiences.

Short +Sweet Sydney
Short + Sweet has been staged in Sydney by Newtown Theatre since 2001. Over the past six years, the event has grown enormously in popularity by critics, participants and audiences alike.

Short + Sweet™ was conceived by Mark Cleary, developed by Alex Broun and first produced at Newtown Theatre, Sydney.