The Big Picture
- Theater Camp is refreshing because it understands and jokes about the inside jokes and rituals that theater kids can relate to.
- The movie highlights the diversity found in the theater world and shows how theater can be a safe haven for people of all ages, genders, races, and sexualities.
- Despite the theatrics and drama, Theater Camp emphasizes the loving and supportive nature of theater kids and the passion they have for their craft.
Theater kids get a bad reputation, and it’s not hard to see why. You have movies like High School Musical, which portray theater-obsessed siblings Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) and Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) as mostly self-absorbed, spotlight-stealing, overly dramatic weirdos, which is a very sharp contrast against the characters who simply fall into the theater world. Then you have shows like Glee, which touched a little more on the diversity you’ll often find in the theater scene, but still showed theater (and choir kids, which are really one and the same) as cutthroat, selfish, fame-obsessed, and overly intense. These are the two examples of theater kids people are probably most familiar with, but they share a common problem. They aren’t made for the audience they’re representing and poking fun at. They aren’t made for theater kids. This is exactly what makes Theater Camp a breath of fresh air.
Theater Camp
PG-13Comedy 10The eccentric staff of a rundown theater camp in upstate New York must band together with the beloved founder's bro-y son to keep the camp afloat.
Release Date July 14, 2023 Director Molly Gordon , Nick Lieberman Cast Ben Platt , Molly Gordon , Noah Galvin , Jimmy Tatro , Ayo Edebiri Runtime 94 minutes Main Genre Comedy Studio Searchlight Pictures ExpandWhat Is 'Theater Camp' About?
Directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, who co-wrote the film with Noah Galvin, the mockumentary comedy Theater Camp stars Ben Platt as Amos, a drama teacher at AndironACTS, a theater summer camp in New York. Every year, he’s accompanied by his best friend and music instructor Rebecca-Diane (Gordon) and they write a special musical to be performed by a select group of campers. This year, their play is titled Joan, Still, in honor of the camp director Joan (Amy Sedaris) that has been left in a coma after a Bye Bye Birdie-related incident. In her absence, her son has been left in charge. A “crypto-bro” type, he knows nothing about theater or the camp.
Troy is tasked with handling the financial troubles of the camp on top of trying to understand the campers. He has to team up with the instructors — drama teacher Amos, musician Rebecca-Diane, costume designer Gigi (Owen Thiele), choreographer Clive (Nathan Lee Graham), and tech guy extraordinaire Glenn (Galvin) — to find a way to save the camp. However, the instructors have their personal drama unfolding, and the final curtain struggles to rise.
'Theater Camp' Leans Into the Inside Jokes of the Theater World
Theater Camp, from the start, does something most media about theater kids fails to do. It talks about the little inside jokes that almost all theater kids understand. There’s the hilarious scene at the beginning between Troy and Glenn, where Glenn explains that there are straight plays and musicals. Troy asks what a gay play is if there’s a straight play, and Glenn awkwardly says he supposes a musical would be a gay play. Theater kids are used to this question, and this is a common response. After all, if you’re going to answer the same question a hundred times, why not have fun with it?
There are tons of small references to the theater kid experience in general, though. The mad rush to get to the cast lists. The strange rituals (séances, chants, warm-ups, games) that make outsiders think theater is some kind of cult. There's the closeness of cast members, especially after doing a long production together. The fact that there’s always that one kid who sings Wicked’s “Defying Gravity” for their audition. The newbie or only-there-for-a-credit kid that sings a Top 40 bop for an audition. Or how theater kids will trade basically anything for a few bags of "throat coat." Vocal rest outside of rehearsals for a show’s entire run and the entirety of the tear stick scene couldn't be more accurate to the real-life theater.
Theater is full of these things, and it’s something that many shows and movies about theater kids forget. Theater Camp exaggerates a lot of these things to poke fun of the people that take these things too seriously or get mad about overused audition tunes, but it’s meant to be funny to theater kids. It’s joking about the things itself more than the people who do it. Just like any other school club or group, the theater has rituals for luck, it has superstitions, it has inside jokes (especially between people who do a show together), and it’s full of a range of personalities. Not every theater kid is a selfish prima donna. While Theater Camp definitely has some of these types (you can’t make a movie like this without them) it shows a number of other types, including kids that aren’t as boisterous.
'Theater Camp's Diversity Is Its Strongest Asset
CloseThis brings up perhaps the movie’s strongest point: diversity. The thing about theater when compared to other clubs and activities is that it isn’t a clique. Sure, you may see groups of them together, but you’ll often find a theater kid in basically any group of people. This is because theater is a place for everyone. Many people who don’t feel like they fit in anywhere are drawn to theater. It’s a place where you can express yourself in a number of ways: acting, singing, dancing, costumes, tech, set design, writing, or directing. It’s a place where you can be anyone, on stage and off. That’s why it’s so common to find people of all types on the stage and behind the curtain.
Theater Camp shows a wide array of campers and staff, all different ages, genders, races, and, yes, sexualities. It does make the “token straight guy” joke in regard to one camper, who is new to the world of theater and seems to prefer sports and Post Malone songs, but he’s still treated kindly by the other campers and is still given the opportunity to perform despite unconventional auditions and little experience. The film even states it’s because every kid deserves a chance to get on the stage and show the world what they’re made of. A theater is a place where everyone has a voice.
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Related'Theater Camp's Noah Galvin Isn't Type A, But That's Where Stage Managers Come In
"The people that have broadened my horizons most ... are the people that inspired my character Glenn Winthrop in 'Theater Camp,' the stage managers.
The film naturally jokes about the high volume of queer people you’ll find in any theater. Many of the campers have very unique gender expressions. Many of them are LGBT. However, this is never a focal point, but rather, it just is. It’s the assumption you’re supposed to make while watching, and Theater Camp doesn’t make fun of any of the characters’ identities the way it feels like other media like High School Musical or Glee do. It, more or less, is meant to joke about the stereotype of all queer people loving theater (particularly musicals) while also confirming that yes, any theater program is going to have a high percentage of queer individuals behind it. This is because the theater has long been a safe haven for queer people to share their stories and express themselves.
The thing that makes the hilarious musical mockumentary Theater Camp so refreshing is that it feels like it’s making fun of theater kids but it's actually showing them the utmost respect. It acknowledges that theater for some people really does help them find a family and a home. For all of the drama, the film still shows the campers getting along well, helping each other, and being able to be their weird, authentic selves with each other. It shows how theater can touch the hearts of even non-theater people, as evidenced by Troy’s sudden understanding of why the kids love what they do after hearing and seeing them perform. It acknowledges that theater kids are "strange," that they have offbeat rituals, can be loud and opinionated, and may break into song spontaneously. But, most importantly, it still remembers that it’s all out of love. Love for themselves, love for the people around them, and love for their craft. And, scene!
Theater Camp is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S.
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