SHORT+SWEET Malaysia 2026 Workshops

Part of the world’s biggest little festival, SHORT+SWEET Malaysia is celebrating its sweet 19 this year! SHORT+SWEET Malaysia 2026, which falls in September / October, will feature new works that are 10 minutes or under in six different categories: Film, Stand-up Comedy, Song, Musical, Dance, and Theatre.

Keen to participate in SHORT+SWEET Malaysia 2026 but unsure how or where to start? No worries, we’ve got you covered! 

This April, we will be hosting a series of workshops on musical, playwriting, acting and directing by seasoned professionals and the who’s who in the industry to get you started. They’ll be sharing their wealth of experience along with practical tips on how you can create your own 10-minute masterpiece.

Be part of the festival now!

http://bit.ly/SS2026-callforentry

Questions?

Email shortandsweetmalaysia@gmail.com or DM us at https://www.facebook.com/ShortSweetMalaysia/ 

Please note:

• There will be no replacement class for absentees
• The workshop fee is non-refundable
• In the event that the workshop does not commence, SHORT + SWEET Malaysia will fully refund the fee to the participant

Best wishes!

Facilitators

Mark Beau De Silva (Writing Workshop)
Mark’s first play Stories for Amah was directed in 2002 by Joe Hasham and garnered five Cameronian
Arts Awards nominations including Best Original Script. Since then, Mark has written and directed many other plays namely 8 Ways to Lighten the Schoolbag, Oh My God, Bottom Top, Kaki Blue the Musical, Adam the Musical, and Big Head Potato Head which won 3 awards in the 2010 ADA Theatre Awards.

In 2009, Mark spent 3 months working with a South Korean company Nottle Theatre on a devised piece, and staged his first play in Singapore; Mama’s Wedding with Action Theatre. In 2011, Mark won Best Director for the Short and Sweet Theatre Festival, and in 2013, the musical that he wrote Marrying Me won Audience Choice Award at the 2013 Cameronian Arts Awards. Mark won Best Director for the Short and Sweet Festival 2014 for Theatre Category and co-directed the musical Zak Zebra’s African Safari for children. In 2016 he co devised Still Taming with Ho Lee Ching, which toured Singapore and Russia.

Mark has been teaching in the performing arts since 2004. He was teaching in the performing arts programme in Sekolah Sri KDU until joining The Actors Studio Academy as facilitator and syllabus developer. Mark has conducted workshops for NGOs (drama therapy), teachers’ training institutions (drama as a tool for language learning), primary and secondary schools (private and public) and corporate training for various companies. His latest play Sisa Sisa received 7 nominations in the 2016 Cameronian Arts Awards. He recently completed his Masters in Performing Arts.

A Master’s of Performing Arts holder and recipient of The Edge Young Leaders Award 2019, Mark has almost two decades of experience teaching English and Drama. A Senior Lecturer of TUTAS Conservatory’s Bachelor of Performing Arts programme set up by Taylor’s University & The Actors Studio (Malaysia), Mark is currently a PhD candidate at ASWARA.

Christopher Ling (Musical Workshop)
Christopher Ling is Associate Artistic Director of The Actors Studio at The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac). He trained in Drama and Theatre Arts at Middlesex University, UK and with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

As co-founder and artistic director of theatrethreesixty, directing includes: Angels in America; Every Brilliant Thing; Wangi Jadi Saksi; 24 Jam Dalam 37 Tahun; and the musicals The Edge, Lost/ Found and Follow The Light.

For The Actors Studio, directing includes: Saccharine, Perhiasan Kaca and Trilogi Bulan (Kembali Ke Pangkuan season); Anak-anak Malik; The Swimming Instructor; and the 2025 premieres of Dollah and Ceritaku for the Yayasan Sime Darby Arts Festival (YSDAF) 2025.

Opera includes: L’Elisir D’Amore, Amahl and the Night Visitors, La Bohème, Hansel and Gretel and La Traviata for Kuala Lumpur City Opera.

Awards include: the Anugerah Seni Negara (National Arts Award) Bakat Muda for Theatre Directing; and Boh Cameronian Arts Awards for Best Direction (Theatre, 2023; Musical Theatre, 2012) and Best Set and/or Visual Design (Musical Theatre, 2025).

Teaching includes: ASWARA, UNIMAS Sarawak, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Nilai University, Perdana University and Methodist College Kuala Lumpur.

Joe Hasham OAM (Acting & Directing Workshop)
Joe was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, did his schooling in Sydney, Australia, moved to Malaysia in 1984 and is now a proud permanent resident of his adopted country. Joe is Artistic Director of The Actors Studio, which he set up with his wife Faridah in 1989, and also Artistic Director of The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (klpac). In 2011, he co-founded the Performing Arts Centre of Penang (penangpac) which operated until 2022. Joe is a graduate of NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) at the University of NSW, Sydney, Australia. Before he made the decision to come to Malaysia, he was one of the most sought after actors in Australia. Joe is a multi award winning film director, actor, writer and recording artist.

Joe was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), within the Australian Honours System "For Service to the performing arts through The Actors Studio (Malaysia) and The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre; and, as an actor, writer, producer and director".