“Theater Camp,” a mockumentary about a summer workshop for thespian adolescents, offers plenty of theater and plenty of camp, to the point that it often plays like one, big inside joke. But the film offsets its drama class insularity with a rousing message that the stage will always be a magical place for children to dream — and to discover themselves.

在文体上,否则从“W指引aiting for Guffman,” Christopher Guest’s classic mockumentary in which a small Missouri town stages a musical revue, “Theater Camp” takes us to AdirondACTS, a financially struggling New York camp where failed actors ruthlessly train the ambitious young stars of tomorrow.

This is a fun premise from the talented creative team of Nick Lieberman, Molly Gordon,Ben Plattand Noah Galvin, but while there are a fair amount of laughs here, the premise isn’t fully taken advantage of onscreen. That’s because most of the characters are threadbare, leaving us with some amusing rapid-fire industry gags but not a real story.

The filmmakers try to make up for this shortcoming with a subplot about a rival camp nearby, but it doesn’t go anywhere. For much of its running time, “Theater Camp” must rely on its mostly ad-lib performances, and fortunately, there is a solid cast to pick up the slack.

The stars behind this personal labor of love earn goodwill by not being afraid to poke fun at their own expense. Gordon (“The Bear”) and Platt (“Dear Evan Hansen”) play drama teachers Rebecca-Diane and Amos, who treat AdirondACTS as an Oscar-worthy endeavor for everyone involved, particularly themselves. Their creatively challenged collaborations are entertaining, as is their showdown when Amos confronts Rebecca-Diane over her “big time” plans to perform on a cruise liner.

Gordon and Lieberman, the film’s co-directors, also get strong supporting help from cast members Galvin (“The Good Doctor”), who plays a stage manager ready for his chance to get his name up in lights, and Ayo Edebiri (Gordon’s co-star in “The Bear”), who portrays a clueless new hire with less acting experience than the children.

Most of the child performers are relegated to the sidelines and have little to work with in terms of character development — beyond hamming it up at an audition — and thus don’t make much of an impression. The exceptions are Donovan Colan, whose desire to perform emanates from an unexpected source, and Alan Kim (“Minari”), who wins laughs as a pint-sized agent furiously working the phones on behalf of his young colleagues.

Many of the camp students presumably come from backgrounds where they feel creatively constrained, or worse, ostracized, but not knowing most of their stories makes it hard for us to have a rooting interest in them. Instead, the filmmakers want us to have a rooting interest in theater itself, and from that standpoint, they earn their curtain call.

The final act of “Theater Camp” is in fact a celebration of the power and community of theater, and it’s the strongest part of the movie. This is where the filmmakers’ love for musical theater comes through, and the children get a chance to shine. It’s also the point where the filmmakers reach their sweet spot: a potent mix of lampoonery and adoration of theater camp culture.

The performance put on by the children at the end of camp is hardly award-caliber — this is satire, after all — but there are catchy tunes, and we can feel the exhilaration and sense of accomplishment that the youths (and one adult) experience. Somehow, some way, against all odds, this seemingly doomed performance comes together on stage in a magical moment where people find in themselves something they never knew they had.

That’s one of the beauties of theater, and it’s a miracle that never grows old.

David Lewis is a freelance writer.