Theater Camp

Calling all theatre kids! Theater Camp was a spectacular, hilarious, heartfelt film that made me feel far too many things. From the casting to the independent film style, Theater Camp delivered an overwhelmingly emotional experience. Ben Platt not only starred in the film but also helped write and produce it. So there is no doubt that this movie is by theatre kids, for theatre kids. If you were a theatre kid at any level I promise that you will have some very strong ptsd flashbacks in the best way possible.

Let’s start with the writing as a whole. Every experience depicted at that kids theater camp was a real thing that all theatre kids go through. It was also really a great choice to have several non theatre kid characters around everyone else. It was really entertaining to see people that didn’t understand how we theatre kids work be confused at how we interact with each other. It lent some much needed reality for the audience (especially the significant others that were dragged along).

All emotions were played really high which was correct because I don’t know if you know this but theatre kids are a bit over dramatic. I loved how the best friend relationship was portrayed because nothing is more accurate then the gay guy, straight girl best friendship (especially when she was once in love with him despite it being very clear that he was always gay).

The character growth for all the main characters was also incredible. Troy starts out as this insufferable wannabe finance bro who is kind of forced into running his mother’s theater camp. Though he doesn’t actually understand business let alone the business of theater. He grew up around the camp but he never really understood its importance (see we might be dramatic but it's because most of us are deeply depressed and we need a way to process our emotions). Ben Platt’s character and his best friend are “full time teachers and aspiring performers” and at the end of the movie she has a performance job and he decides he’s actually more of just a full time teacher. Their interactions were actually the best “it's like we share a soul” was one of the most real and accurate lines I have ever heard spoken in a movie.

My favorite parts had to be anytime any of the teacher characters brought up using “pain” as a part of their acting process. Anyone who has been through a collegiate or really intensive theatre program has been through some really rough straight up abuse under the guise of “acting exercises”. Acting teachers would straight up bully you to get the performance they wanted (much like Ben Platt’s character while teaching his class).

Perhaps the best thing about this movie was the emotional and moving ending song. It made me feel just like every finale of every musical theatre show that I have ever experienced. It was beautiful and I did in fact tear up. The songs are actually hilarious, and their full versions are available on the soundtrack. Overall I really really loved the movie. We listened to finale songs the whole way home and then I started rewatching SMASH because I was in full musical theatre mode after that. The film was a solid 10/10 and that’s due to the fact that it was short, and sweet. It knew exactly what it was and it was concise and accurate to the people it was portraying. I highly recommend going to see Theater Camp and dragging all your non theatre friends with you.