UAE based theater talent to deliver a positive experience for all at the third annual Abu Dhabi Short+Sweet competition
Abu Dhabi, January 2, 2017: The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is excited to host the internationally renowned Short+Sweet Festival. Showcasing a competition featuring 10 ten-minute plays and a Wildcard performance on Friday, January 19 and Saturday 20.
Staged over two days, Short+Sweet is a collection of plays that encompass a spectrum of genres. Each Short+Sweet event spotlights locally based actors, writers, and directors, so the Abu Dhabi version will see a host of local talent staging their work. And each festival has three clear goals::
- For the participants to have a positive experience
- For the audience to have a positive experience
- To create good theater
While this is only the third edition of the Abu Dhabi Short+Sweet competition, the global phenomenon started some 15 years ago in Sydney, Australia. Since its inception, it has grown while travelling the world and currently features in seven countries and 23 cities.
Those attending will gather in The Blue Hall, a beautiful and intimate multi-disciplinary space in The Arts Center and will have the chance to see two Top 10 performances (ten, ten-minute shows), with a repeating line-up presented on both the Friday and Saturday. Short + Sweet Abu Dhabi will also present a Wildcard performance on Saturday, January 20th at 3pm, which sees groups of performers new to the stage, whose work is often more experimental, but nonetheless of equal standard to the Top 10 performances.
The competition is separated into two parts: the Judge’s Choice and the People’s Choice. Judges decide upon the best male and female actors, runner-up best actor and actress, best new talent, best writer, best director, best independent theatre company and best overall play. For the People’s Choice, the audience receive a voting slip when they enter The Blue Hall and are asked to vote for their favourite play by the end.
Festival Director of the 2018 Abu Dhabi edition, Zakaia Cvitanovich, spoke about the upcoming edition, saying: “Short+Sweet provides a wonderful opportunity for people to give writing, directing, or acting a go… whether you’re an experienced theatre practitioner or new to the world of theater, Short+Sweet has something for everybody.”
Bill Bragin, executive artistic director at The Arts Center at NYUAD, is eager to see what the UAE’s local talent has to offer, saying: “Our collaboration with Short + Sweet has created new relationships between The Arts Center and locally-based theater artists, and provides an important complement to our on-going series of visiting artists. We’re proud to offer our stage to artists from our own community. ”
Tickets will go on sale Monday, January 8 at 3pm, with performances on Friday January 19 and Saturday 20 at 8pm, as well as the Wildcard performance on the Saturday January 20 at 3pm.
The Arts Center at NYUAD is an internationally renowned performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions.
Tickets are available now. For more information please visit: http://www.nyuad-artscenter.org
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