Film Review – Theater Camp (2023)

Since I saw the first trailer for Theater Camp, I knew it would be a film for me. What I did not know was exactly how much I would love it. The day my mum gently forced me to attend at least the first lesson of the drama club that my school was running in the afternoon was the day I became a theatre kid. Back then, I was just a shy teenager who didn’t even grasp the concept of theatre kids – if not for watching Glee religiously – nor knew that the drama club would soon become the best part of high school. All of this is to say that I was so excited to see a portrayal of something that has meant so much to me on the screen.

Theater Camp t is set almost exclusively at AdinrondACTS in upstate New York, where every summer young performers meet from all over to take classes and be in one of the final productions. This year, however, things take a turn as the founder of the camp Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris) has fallen into a coma, leaving her son Troy (Jimmy Tatro) in charge. But Troy knows nothing of theatre nor of the financial struggles looming on the camp and throughout the summer he has to find a way to save the camp and work with its eccentric inhabitants, including the teachers Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon), Amos Klobuchar (Ben Platt), and the newly-hired Janet Walch (Ayo Edebiri).

Those of us who have ever had something to do with performing on a stage will undoubtedly relate to Theater Camp. Most of the jokes have a strong foundation in real-life situations theatre kids would surely have experienced, making fun of all the difficulties that come with putting on a production, such as not having a closing number the day before opening night. The film is an ode to theatre and the people who make it such a chaotic, colourful, and beautiful world. While it may be a satire and does make fun of this world, we can laugh with it because it is ultimately made with love and appreciation for the theatre craft.

Theater Camp‘s strongest element is its witty satire and perfect comedic timing: the film had me – and the rest of the audience sitting in my same theatre – laugh out loud every other scene and I can’t the last time a comedy film was able to do just that. The mockumentary style only heightens the comedic element of the movie, adding a further layer of satire to the whole situation. The intertitles at the beginning and the use of a shaky camera, both techniques that we immediately associate with documentary filmmaking, convey the idea that this could very well be a documentary, despite its exaggeration and dramatized characters.

But Theater Camp is not just for people who love theatre and can relate to it. Thanks to the presence of two outsider characters: Roy and Janet are not familiar with the thespian heaven that the struggling AdinrondACTS is. As such, they can function as a point of entry for the audience who is not familiar with theatre, stage combat, or the difference between straight plays and musicals. Moreover, they add a lot to the satire of the film as through their presence the film can highlight how dramatic the whole thing is for an outsider, making the film’s comedy relate even to people who did not grow up performing.

Theater Camp is a funny and sweet portrayal of the chaos and madness of theatre. It comically portrays the hardships and happiness that being involved in a production can bring you. At the end of the credits, the film is rightfully dedicated to all the drama teachers, but ultimately Theater Camp is for all the kids who needed theatre to find a place to fit in, who met some of their closest friends on stage, who were picked last in gym, and who can see parts of themselves in the characters in the film.