Local students are ready to show off their dramatic skills in the Short and Sweet theatre festival in Sydney.
The Short and Sweet Theatre Festival is held annually at the King Street Theatre in Newtown and displays a variety of 10-minute plays, with the program changing weekly.
Two plays that were directed and performed by students from western Sydney theatre group Captivate Drama Ensemble have been chosen to feature in week two of the festival, from Wednesday, January 15 to Sunday, January 19.
The play ‘Outside the Box’ was written by Dan Borengasser and directed by Henrietta Stathopoulos, a senior drama and VET entertainment teacher at St Andrews College in Marayong.
Students from western Sydney will perform in the play, which stars university student Brittany Ayden and St Andrews College Year 10 students Elizabeth May and Emma Webb, who are all Blacktown residents.
Penrith actor Brandon Lees will also perform in the Short and Sweet festival for the fourth year in a row, following on from his recent role as an extra in Angelina Jolie’s film ‘Unbroken’.
The theatre festival is a good opportunity for western Sydney students to hone their theatrical skills and get performance experience, according to Ms Stathopoulos.
“This is an excellent event for students who have been working and refining their acting and directing skills in a professional environment. Over the last three years, we have gone from four students to now eight, all wanting to be involved either as an actor, director or in stage management,” she said.
Fellow Captivate Drama director, Gabby Florek, will stage the play ‘Ask Not For Whom the Post is Liked’.
The play explores an interview that starts off well but quickly goes awry and turns into an interrogation when the interviewer uncovers personal information about the interviewee’s past.
Director Gabby Florek recently completed her second year at Sydney University, where she is involved with the drama society, and has also worked with the Chalkdust Theatre Company.
She directs Blacktown actors Rhiannan Villano, a volunteer at the Blacktown Arts Centre, and Mandy Sugar, a HSC student who has previously acted in Captivate Drama works.
The Short and Sweet Theatre Festival is held at the King Street Theatre in Newtown.
‘Outside the Box’ and ‘Ask Not For Whom the Post is Liked’ are both featured in week two of the program, showing from Wednesday, January 15 until Sunday, January 19.
For more information or tickets, visit www.shortandsweet.org.
