SHORT+SWEET CABARET (Melbourne)

Short+Sweet Cabaret will be held at Chapel Off Chapel in Prahran from Thursday 12 to Sunday 22 November 2009. Expect dozens of new, excellent cabaret acts from raunchy to hilarious with only one guideline - a max of 10 minutes each. Vote for your favourite over two weeks culminating in the gala final on Sunday 22 November.

History:

The inaugural Short+Sweet Cabaret was held at The Butterfly Club in South Melbourne in July 2008. The 2008 program featured 17 new cabaret works selected from 35 submissions.

Judges from across Australia selected the following winners:

Best Cabaret: Elenor Jane Adams
F**k You Shirley Temple

Runner-up: Hayley Ramsay
Not So Secret Bridesmaid’s Business

Professional Development Award: Tom Dickins 
Cab-O-Rage

People’s Choice Award (as judged by the audience over the season):
Pieta Farrell & Joel Bow, accompanied by Tom Dalton 
The Adventures of Gypsy and Rag

How it works:

Aside from great prizes, Short+Sweet Cabaret provides performers with the opportunity to showcase their latest work, and acts as a launching pad to recognition and further opportunities.

Costs such as venue hire, a tech and piano accompaniment (if required) are covered by the festival.

Individual cabaret performers or groups can apply. Short+Sweet encourages all forms of cabaret and are particularly looking for fresh but well thought out ideas.

As with Short+Sweet Theatre’s other festivals around the world, the concept involves 10 minute works.

The Festival Director compiles a short list of submissions, based on their concept and 100 word description.

In 2008 winners shared a prize pool including:

A photo shoot, valued at $700, with Australia’s premier performing arts photographer, James Penlidis.

A 2009 Adelaide Cabaret Festival ‘Gold Pass’.

A season at Melbourne’s home of cabaret, The Butterfly Club.

Course entry to Play Right Productions’ ‘Creating Solo Cabarets’, valued at $480.

A 2-3 hour director’s master class by one of Australia’s leading cabaret MDs and performers, Mark Jones.

Three Arts Hub memberships

How prize winners are determined:

Each performance night, respected industry members vote for awards such as ‘Best Cabaret’, ‘Runner-up’ and ‘Professional Development Award’.

Like other Short+Sweet Theatre festivals there is also a People’s Choice Award, which is presented to the cabaret performer who receives the most audience votes over the whole season.