The new award in the Short+Sweet Festival will recognise theatre’s best actress, writes Subhadra Devan
THE biggest little festival in the world is back with its longest run yet, a whole 10 weeks, which began on Sept 7.
But the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) annual staple has a new offering in its awards. Festival director Datuk Faridah Merican says the theatre segment of the Short+Sweet Festival will have a Samantha Schubert Award.
“When our beloved friend and theatre practitioner Samantha Schubert passed on earlier this year, her husband (Oliver Knott) talked to us about an award in Samantha’s name, to be given out for Short+Sweet Theatre.
“The award will consist of cash and a trophy. Why? To keep the memory of Samantha alive and pay tribute to a truly wonderful Malaysian who had a passion and deep love for theatre.”
Samantha, 47, who died from pancreatic cancer in April, was an actress, producer, model and Miss Malaysia/World 1991. Her last screen role was in the 2006 movie, The Red Kebaya, directed by Knott. Her best known plays included The Odd Couple with Bernie Chan and Elaine Daly in 2006 and The Tempest with Mano Maniam in 2007.
The award is for the Best Actress in the theatre segment, which runs from Oct 19, and will be given out on the final night for the category, slated for Oct 30. “We will disclose the amount on that gala night,” adds Faridah.
It’s been nine years since the S+S Festival began here, but it has shot to the top of the must-do list for the arts and culture crowd. The short 10-minute spurt of creativity for each item, be it theatre, dance, musical, stand-up comedy or song, makes the event fun and entertaining. This year, the dance segment will run for four weeks, with 35 groups and 150 performers.
The S+S Festival takes place at KLPac and later in Penang, from Nov 9-19. There are more than 200 entries for the festival, with 100 new works, all original. “In one night, an audience member can watch up to 12 vastly different bite-sized performances,” she adds.
Performers are both newbies and veterans, all vying to showcase their creativity and talents. Short+Sweet Festival started small in Sydney, Australia, but it now has chapters all over the world. In fact, the Malaysian editions have seen performers from abroad, like My Name is Cinema from India, which won the Audience Choice Award.
The prize money may not go through the roof but the fact that there are sponsors says volumes for the generosity of Malaysians and their love for the arts.
The prizes include the coveted Mercedes-Benz Creative Excellence Award for the dance, theatre and musical categories in Kuala Lumpur, and the popular Audience Choice Award.
Details at www.klpac.org.
Tickets for all segments are RM25/RM35 and RM45 for gala nights.