Short+Sweet Hollywood Welcomes New Partners NBC Universal, LA Casting/Casting Networks And Final Draft!

Short+Sweet Hollywood is just around the corner! In the weeks leading up to the event, the 10minute play and film festival announces partnerships with some of the entertainment industry's leading organisations and brands including NBC Universal, LA Casting/Casting Networks and Final Draft, who are offering great prizes and professional development opportunities for the winners.

Short+Sweet is a global festival brand, presenting 10-minute Theatre, Dance, Cabaret, Film and Song Festivals around the world, with a long legacy of providing opportunities for emerging artists that have gone on to create new works, new relationships and further their stage and screen careers. This year Short+Sweet Hollywood takes place at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre in The Lee Strasberg Institute from September 24 - October 28.

The festival offers some fantastic awards to winners across all programs, in categories across performance, writing, directing, Judges and People's choice, which are built around supporting professional development. Memberships to top professional sites, access to leading industry tools and mentorship programs lead the list of prizes up for grabs.

With an open and Latino theatre section as well as an LGBTQ+ Live week and films from a broad cross section of our community, the Short+Sweet Hollywood program reflects the wonderfully diverse local talent pool and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, while also inviting international voices to share their stories on stage and screen.

This year, NBC Universal is joining as a first time Festival Partner. The company will award the winners of the Best Performer categories with a workshop with an NBC casting executive.

"A meeting with an NBC casting executive is a potentially life changing experience for an emerging performer. This is an incredible opportunity for the performers and artists involved in the festival, and we are thankful to NBC for their support" said Festival Director Nick Hardcastle. ".

Major sponsor, Final Draft is contributing prizes to every single category across the festival program. Hardcastle says "Being able to arm our developing storytellers with the best tool in the business is incredibly exciting for us!". Final Draft is the industry standard in screenwriting and scriptwriting software. Used by such industry giants as J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and Aaron Sorkin, Final Draft automatically paginates and formats your script to industry standards, allowing writers to focus on what they do best - writing scripts.

Nick continues, "We also have the support of LA Casting/Casting Networks, LLC this year, which is another huge coup". Casting Networks, LLC is the leading provider of casting and audition management software to the casting industry around the globe. Thousands of casting directors and agents worldwide use Casting Networks to source and manage talent across film, television, digital and commercials projects, facilitating over a million auditions per year. "With offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Sydney, Casting Networks is a perfect partner for Short+Sweet, being a global festival that attracts talent from around the world." All of the prize-winning performers across each program will receive a membership and a headshot package from LA Casting / Casting Networks. "It is a huge leg up for any actor or performer that needs to be seen and submitted for professional work!" says Hardcastle.

There are also prizes from Argentum Studios, We Audition, top line learning app - Rehearsal Pro and more still to be confirmed.

The festival will also include special events including a Short+Sweet dance event, masterclasses and an industry night each week called 'Thirsty Thursdays', sponsored by Silent Pool Gin. Guest speakers, performers and surprise acts will appear in the Actor's Lounge at the Lee Strasberg each week at this free networking evening.

Submissions for plays and films are now closed. However, it is not too late to register as an actor to take part in the theatre programs. There will be open auditions for Spanish speaking actors on Saturday August 10, and English speaking actors on Sunday August 11 at the Lee Strasburg Institute. Information about auditions and how to register is available here.

If you'd like to join the Short+Sweet Volunteer Team or learn more about how you can support Short+Sweet, contact Festival Director Nick Hardcastle, through the Short+Sweet website.

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