The Apiary

By: Lucas Hazlett

I've never been to sleep-away camp. I did, however, spend many of my childhood summers alone in my room immersed in the camping cultures depicted in shows like "Salute Your Shorts," the Simpsons episode "Kamp Krusty" and movies like "Meatballs," "Camp Nowhere" and "Ernest Goes to Camp."

So I'm no stranger to the comedic ongoings of a sylvan caravansary in the summer.

In the one-woman sketch show "Welcome to Camp!" Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) recreates a day-in-the-life of campers on their first day at Camp Kweebec, a sleep-away camp for, presumably, Jewish girls.

We are introduced to an array of characters (Dennie the counselor, fellow camper Rachel, a counselor who discusses blow jobs and Marni Jacobs) who attempt to acclimate the new campers to summer camp life, each in their own unique and sometimes serious, sometimes ridiculous way. It's obvious from the specificity of these characters and the sentimentality she conjures that Jacobson is pulling from experiences she must have actually had at real summer camps, however, the comedic punches and silly gags sprinkled throughout suggest she spent just as many summers with Nickelodeon, Twentieth Century Fox and Ernest P. Worrell. The strength of "Welcome To Camp" lies in its conceit of breaking the fourth wall and treating the audience as though it were on its first day at Camp Kweebec.

In doing so, Jacobson creates an intimacy that serves what could have otherwise been some flat scenarios: Counselor Dennie passes a roll of toilet paper around the audience in the first scene and explains that each sheath of paper ripped off represents the number of personal stories each camper will tell about themselves; another counselor discusses sexual justice and what should be expected in return for giving blow jobs to the male campers next door; and when Marnie Jacob shows her fellow bunkmates each of the increasingly ridiculous items she's received in a care package from her mother, the audience hangs on each reveal.

If Jacobson hadn't created a feel of participation and merely presented each character and scenario, "Welcome To Camp" probably wouldn't have been nearly so entertaining. Instead, because of great characterisation and solid directing (Matt Mayer), Jacobson has created a piece that feels right at home beside "Salute Your Shorts" and the like, providing for me, at least, one more entertaining substitution to fill the void of a childhood ill-spent.

--Lucas Hazlett is a comedy geek who improvises with anyone he can. He can be seen performing at the Peoples Improv Theater (123 East 24th Street) every Wednesday night at 8:00PM with PIT house team Stranger.

• THE PLUG: Don't miss "Welcome to Camp!" happening TONIGHT @ 7:30PM at The UCBT-NY | $10