Lynn Belvedere

SHORT+SWEET SYDNEY 2015 GALA FINAL

SHORT+SWEET SYDNEY 2015 GALA FINAL

S S Awards by Geoff Sirmai_0052 Award winners low res

This year Short+Sweet Sydney staged 156 ten minute plays, during January and February. This year I had the opportunity to see almost every play. Wow an almost perfect selection of the best of the best winners from each week of the festival, and these thirteen wonderful plays were the Gala Finalists for Short+Sweet Sydney 20th March 2015 at the Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

The Gala Final presented a very entertaining evening with minimalist sets/staging. Rapid paced delivery of each of those very clever scripts, provided a full and quite varied range of believable performances from a superb cast of great actors, all directed with unique visions.

All the Gala Finalists were hoping to win awards (and prizes) in these categories: Best Production, Best Script, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress, Best Newcomer etc.

1. Screamers!

2. Truth or Dare

3. Shirley Vs. The Squirrels

4. Tagged

5. Wish

6. Manstruating

7. Scratch

8. Chance You Can Dance

9. Speaking Freely

10. Transactions

11. The Bridge

12. Unforgettable

13. Pee Buddies

Surprisingly the majority of the finalists were comedies, with theatre plays covering all manner of surprising unexpected outcomes. We learnt everything that you never need to know about the Shy Bladder Syndrome (PARURESIS), Senile Dementia, Suicide, clever prostitute with sexless 15 year fake marriage, inner voices on a first date, reality television dance contestants, the urgent need to return overdue hired dvds, male psychosomatic conditions mirroring female cycles, how not to make a dying wish, why to un-friend all of facebook, kill all the rodents, playing games destroys potential relationships, political cabaret.

Impossible to pick just one winner, since all thirteens plays deserved to have won the night, and the winners are:-

Best Actress (wins Double pass to Rotunda, Monologue Double Pass, IZBA)
Winner: Emma Playfair in Manstruating
presented by Pete Malicki, Festival Director

Best Actor (wins Double Pass to Rotunda, Monologue Double Pass, IZBA)
Winner: Drew Holmes in Unforgettable and Chance You Can Dance
Winner: James Shepherd in Scratch
presented by Pete Malicki, Festival Director

Best Script (wins $2500 Lighting Services, New Theatre Double Pass, IZBA
Winner: Scratch by Tom Green
presented by Alex Broun, Former Festival Director

Wildcards Winner (wins $2500 Lighting Services, Grounded Double Pass, Endgame Double Pass)
Winner: Pee Buddies by Shane Murphy, directed by John Emmett with Reece Lyndon and Scott Dias
presented by Alex Broun, Former Festival Director

Sam Gennochio Memorial Award for Best Director (wins $5000 Cash Prize)
Winner: Tom Green for Scratch
presented by Mark Cleary, Executive Director

Short+Sweet Award for Best Production (wins Double Pass to Two Peas, Double Pass to Pole Candy)
Winner: Scratch, written and directed by Tom Green, starring James Shepherd, Jed Clarke, Richie P and Shaun A. Robinson
presented by Mark Cleary, Executive Director

Best Newcomer (Male) (wins TwoFeet Tour, New Theatre Double Pass, Hunter Valley Tour)
Winner: Glenn Wanstall (director Positions Vacant, actor Milton, Another Day Out with the Mates
presented by Alana Teasdale, Festival Coordinator

Best Newcomer (Female) (wins TwoFeet Tour, New Theatre Double Pass, Hunter Valley Tour)
Winner: 17 year old Bokkie Robertson, writer of Wish
presented by Alana Teasdale, Festival Coordinator

People’s Choice Winner (wins NYFA Filmmaking Course, Gold Pass Comedy Store)
Winner: Scratch written and directed by Tom Green, starring James Shepherd, Jed Clarke, Richie P and Shaun A. Robinson
presented by Sam Nardo, GM Factory Theatre

Looking forward to seeing the next season of Short+Sweet Sydney ten minute plays, from January 2016.

.

Published by Lynn Belvedere

Once we were old enough, my parents took the whole family to the Sydney CBD cinemas every week. Thus began a lifetime interest, in going to the cinema every week, and became a passionate cinephile by watching all those very heavily edited ''Australian Film Censorship Board'' true cinéaste versions of brand new release ''Cinematograph Films''. Greater Union always gave my father (who worked in Cinema Distribution Exhibition) guest double movie passes, to every first-night ''red carpet Opening Night'' at The State Theatre Cinema at 49 Market Street. Up until his death, my dad always received ''two house seats'' for every Opening Night performance events at the Theatre Royal SYDNEY and at Her Majesty's Theatre SYDNEY. As a child, when mum choose not to go, I often went with him, to those live performance events. As a young child, I remember being taken for each new show, at both The New Theatre at 60 Sussex Street, and the Phillip Street Theatre when located at 150 Elizabeth Street, and for classical music concerts at Sydney Town Hall. = = = ★★★★★ = = = Being happy is a choice, and I have always viewed my life, as material ready be made into a series of amazing tentpole movies. My New Years Resolution is kept every year: ''Get to see/review five new live theatre shows each week, and get to see/review six new cinema movies each week'', plus is one of the Australian Cinema Pioneers, and apparently have seen far too much already, but always wanting to experience more and more each year. I am also able to do almost everything that I enjoy doing. Yes, I do have a great daytime job in I.T. as ''Software Design Project Manager'', PLUS each evening until quite late - - - Australian Cinematograph Films historical censorship consultant - product-placement consultant - mystery-shopper consultant - playwright, writer, author, director, producer, photographer, cinematographer, color-grader, subtitles proofreader - arts/ drama/ music/ film critic and judge, journalist, member FIPRESCI & FCCA & AFCA, member AACTA accredited film reviewer-critic-writer, accredited IMDB.COM critic-reviewer-author, projectionist, plus an innovative iconoclast - - - ★★★★★ LYNN BELVEDERE ★★★★★ - - - [usr 5] - - -