‘Theater Camp’ Mercilessly Satirizes Thespian Life With Heartfelt Glee

Alci Rengifo

A film like “Theater Camp” comes straight from the personal world of its makers. To truly satirize or mock something, you almost have to love it or hate it. In this case, you can feel the genuine affection co-directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman have for the world of theater camps, drama class and young thespians. Like some campus newspapers, the drama department is also where all the misfits and outcasts tend to gather. That doesn’t make them any more immune to ego trips and delusions of grandeur, which Gordon and Lieberman jab at mercilessly with much affection. Gordon and co-star Ben Platt are industry offspring who grew up performing on stage together. Their work here has a unique kind of insider feel while celebrating being a part of any sort of adventurous collective.

The theater camp of the title is AdirondACTS, a summer camp in upstate New York for aspiring actors, mostly in the middle school range. It is the subject of a mockumentary looking into how the institution works. But a crisis hits when the camp’s founder, Joan (Amy Sedaris), is left in a coma triggered by the strobe lights during a production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” The camp’s head counselors, Rebecca-Diane (Gordon) and Amos (Platt), are left with the pressure of keeping the camp running smoothly. They even devise the season’s original production to be a biographical musical about Joan. Both have been best friends since childhood, when Rebecca-Diane had a big crush on Amos before he came out of the closet. Then Joan’s son, Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to handle the business end of things. He surely knows his stuff considering he’s one of those influencers with a total bro look, who gives you advice on how to get rich. What he can’t tell everyone else is that the camp’s finances are actually in dire straits with foreclosure just around the corner. 

All of “Theater Camp” plays like people who know each other and have been tolerating each other’s quirks for years. The mockumentary style, chosen by Gordon and Lieberman, and shot in a grainy ‘90s style by cinematographer Nate Hurtsellers, creates an addictive, chaotic environment. The approach makes hilarious bits much more effective, like Rebecca-Diane and Amos rallying the camp’s kids on the first day as if they were at some religious revival set to Andrew Lloyd Webber music. The supporting roles are like a microcosm of what you find in any production, large or small. The head of dance, Clive (Nathan Lee Graham) is a total diva while the wardrobe instructor, Gigi (Owen Thiele), calls out a kid for snitching on students getting piercings on the side. The stage manager, Glenn (Noah Galvin), once had dreams of being a star before being reduced to instructing on how to operate a spotlight. To cut costs Troy fires a chunk of staff and hires Janet (Ayo Edebiri) who lies on her resume about having any theater experience. 

As the weeks tick down towards what should be the premiere of the season’s big production, everyone begins living their own micro dramas. Amos and Rebecca-Diane have serious co-dependency issues, with Amos not willing to believe his bestie would ever make important life choices without his input. They are like overgrown versions of high school stage rats who take the class much too seriously, which here can be endearing since they truly want to instill craft in the kids, even in farcical ways (such as shaming a kid for using mentholated eyeliner for tears). During meetings over casting they argue with Clive and Gigi about how to make a virgin evoke someone who isn’t, even if the cast member in question is an adolescent. It’s all so entertaining and immersive because the child actors are also genuinely talented and well selected, hitting impressive notes during funny audition scenes. There is also a rival camp we never get to truly meet, which is of course wealthier, with fancy buses and uniforms.

Good movies about a subculture or art form are also sharp commentaries on other topics. “Theater Camp” is about the life or death importance that people give to any group they belong to. Amos, Rebecca-Diane and staff are as committed as professors who cling to their department chairs. Troy stumbles into this world as an alien who looks confused when the young actress chosen to play his mom offers to meet with him to discuss “personal mannerisms and other details.” He’s the cool jock getting to know the unpopular kids at school. Just in time for the SAG/AFTRA strike, there’s also subtext about corporate greed and its crushing of the arts. If AdirondACTS can’t pay the bills, it will be taken over by its rivals, represented by the cold and conniving Caroline (Patti Harrison), who represents the firm seeking to uproot the camp grounds. She boasts to an impressed Troy that she helped contribute to the very concept of “gentrification.” She’s written with enough satirical venom where we sense the filmmakers have met people like this quite often. 

In many ways, “Theater Camp” defines the idea of a passion project. The filmmakers are clearly following the old rule of “write what you know.” Noah Galvin, who also contributed to the script, and Ben Platt are engaged in real life, which shows just how close to home this film gets. It’s a love letter to those groups we become a part of and miss dearly when the fun is over. The escapist mood of the camp starts to crack when Rebecca-Diane and Amos are forced to have a serious conversation about their rather twisted bond. Yet, the resulting production that closes the film is a wildly funny romp that runs through Joan’s life, from her Jewish parents migrating to America in the ‘60s to her days partying at Studio 54. It’s absurd but the point is it comes together and there is nothing like the feeling of being on a rickety ship with collaborators, then looking back and realizing you pulled it off. Theater, like film, is a team effort and it’s a clash of personalities, traumas and creative juices that can be more entertaining than the end product. At its best this wicked comedy captures much of that feeling.

“Theater Camp” releases July 14 in select theaters.