Short

Short takes place against the backdrop of a university theater’s summer production of The Wizard of Oz, including four weeks of rehearsal and three weeks of performance. A typical production process for a musical production can be split into eight phases: preproduction, music, choreography and blocking, runthroughs, sitzprobe, tech, dress, and show. In preproduction, the creative team (the director, stage manager, and designers) decides on the overall vision for the show and determines the audition and casting process. Short opens at the end of the preproduction phase when Julia auditions for the play; at this point, the theater company has already hired Shawn Barr, who has determined the broad plan for the show. Julia’s first week of rehearsals involves her and the other Munchkins learning the music, lyrics, and the beginning of the choreography. This is in keeping with the typical progress of a musical production; the cast learns the music and lyrics before practicing specific scenes or choreography. As a member of the ensemble, Julia’s rehearsal time consists mainly of music, lyrics, and choreography rather than specific scenes or dialogue.

In the latter half of the rehearsal period, the cast and crew begin runthroughs, working through the play from beginning to end and stopping intermittently to fix errors or make changes. There are three specific types of rehearsal during this period: sitzprobe, tech, and dress. Sitzprobe is the rehearsal where the cast sings the music with an orchestra for the first time—often the first time that the cast sings to live music rather than a track. Tech rehearsals, often called “tech week,” focus on the technical aspects of the performance: special effects, sound, lighting, and set changes. Tech week is typically the week leading up to the first performance and often overlaps with dress rehearsal. Dress rehearsals are the final stage prior to opening night: The cast does a complete runthrough of the show wearing their costumes, microphones, and any special technical elements (like the flying monkey harnesses). Once the production begins its run of performances, there are typically no full-length rehearsals, though the director may ask certain performers to come to the theater to practice certain elements, as Shawn Barr does with the Munchkins.

As a local theater company, the university theater in Short relies on a combination of volunteer theater performers and semiprofessional or professional performers. It is common for local companies to pay out-of-town talent to work on the show alongside local actors and volunteers, especially for summer productions, which typically draw larger numbers. There are tiers of professional theater, and often a show will open at a local theater company as part of its journey to professional theater venues in New York; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; and Chicago. Shawn Barr alludes to this when he tells Julia, “The Munchkins will live to fight another day. That’s why shows open out of town” (284). These various tiers of theater are represented in the novel by specific characters: Julia, a local kid having her first theater experience; Olive, a local performer getting to work with a professional director and other professional actors; the out-of-town actors test-running their show in a small market; and Mrs. Yang, a former professional getting to use her skills once more. Ultimately, these different tiers of involvement support the author’s larger claim about The Power and Purpose of Theater to bring people from all backgrounds together and to inspire them.