Following on from the interview last week with Lydia Zanetti, Artistic Director for Short+Sweet Dance, Renee Liang interviews Jonathan Hodge, Artistic Director for Short+Sweet Song and Theatre.

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It's now S+S's fourth year in Auckland... why do you think this festival is so popular?

Short+Sweet has been a really solid performer because it includes people and it is fun. Our performers and creatives come from a wide range of backgrounds. Our audiences range from the experienced theatre-goer to the absolute virgin. Short+Sweet recognises that diversity and aims to provide something for everyone, chopped up into ten minute bite sized pieces. The aim is to provide a fun experience that makes both audience and participant want to come back again and again!

Why introduce S+S Song?

Auckland has a large musical theatre community but that style of work often requires huge investment to stage, large casts, copyright cost ... For actors, directors and other creatives, Short+Sweet has the added benefit of providing a simple low investment way of bringing work to audiences. We looked at the variations that had operated elsewhere in the world and we thought that Auckland musical performers could do with the same opportunity. Having had some musical works in the Theatre stream before we knew it worked and so, in the spirit of Short+Sweet, we decided to give it a try. This year's showcase is small but we hope it will grow like the others.

 "Expect the unexpected in a night that mashes up rock, musicals, pop, indie and event opera." How much cross pollination occurs, and what pieces are you looking forward to?

As always with any Short+Sweet show, the only way to really know what is coming is to be there. Even for me as the curator of the works, I still only have a small idea of what is going to be on the stage. I assess on potential and then I trust participants to bring great work. At this stage the pieces that are coming to the stage all seem to have a different background or style. As to how much cross pollination there is within each piece? Well you'll just have to be there. Look out for a piece about Ninjas though ... I like Ninjas ...

Comedy vs drama.....what have been the most successful pieces at S+S theatre to date?

This is always an interesting question. With the short format comedy has always done very well. It connects with an audience fast and effectively and charms audiences. It can cover a multitude of other sins. It's no secret that a large proportion of the pieces in Short+Sweet are comedy for this reason. Dare I say ... it is the easy option? That said the best pieces fro my point of view have been the ones you'd struggle to classify as drama.

For a drama to work it needs to be well formed, clean, simple and not overwrought. Too much emotion too fast is the trap. The classic actor's mistake is to think because you're crying and wailing that the audience are too. The skill required to make a clear, truthful story work in ten minutes are hard to come by. I'm excited this year by the fact that there are few dramas with great casts and creatives. Also, I'm really excited to see that this year there are some teams approaching what looks like theatre with political messages. Short+Sweet has room for all this, especially as its only ever ten minutes to the next play.

Have you had teams come back year after year, and what have been some of the standouts?

As we establish ourselves as a regular event we are beginning to have people who come back time and again. The creative teams from some of the best plays of last year are returning. The winner of Best Director last year, Glen Pickering, is back with his team. Bruce Brown returns with Winter's Collective (who produced the wonderful Boys' Outing last year) in what will be his fourth year as a director, having started in the Wildcards in 2010. This year will be the fourth year for Might-i Theatre and Liesha Ward Knox. Matt Baker returns to direct for his third year. There are many more too. For me the biggest success is Northland Youth Theatre who return this year for the second time. They are all under 18 and write, direct, perform and produce their own work. They even run a smaller ten minute competition amongst themselves to raise funds to bring the team to Auckland and to choose the best work to bring to the festival. For me this is exciting and they share the building with professionals like they were born to it!

Can you introduce us to the team behind S+S - I gather it's now a slick and well-oiled production?

Ah so our act is working! Short+Sweet is controlled chaos but after doing it for three years we know how it works! This year some changes have meant things are calming down and really beginning to take root. As before I stay in charge of the Theatre festival as Artistic Director and I add the Song off-shoot to my portfolio. We bring in the wonderful Lydia Zanetti to become the Artistic Director for Dance. She has been ably mentored by our Associate Producer, Carrie-Rae Cunningham who did that job last year. But the big change for us this year is that we have the spectacular Sums Selvarajan taking on the role of Festival Producer. Short+Sweet requires Sums to work very closely with her Artistic Directors and she has been nothing short of amazing. This triumvirate works very evenly together to bring you Short+Sweet as a whole. We also have another Associate Producer, Yee Yang "Square" Lee who has provided invaluable assistance with the company structure and organisational development.

What has been the effect of S+S on the local theatre scene?

Short+Sweet has meant that many performers and creative who would otherwise have been shut out of the scene due to the financial and artistic imperatives of the other companies have a chance to be seen. And seen by audiences who often have never set foot in a theatre before.

What are you planning for next year?

At this stage I can't really see past 2013. Normally we have some ideas and as always we will be working to maintain the festival as the annual event it has already become. As for new ideas ... come along, see what we've made and if you have any ideas we'd love to hear them!

Short+Sweet Song
AT: The Herald Theatre at The EDGE
FROM: June 11-16  

Short+Sweet Theatre
AT: The Herald Theatre at The EDGE
FROM: June 18-30