About The Film

Escondido, California, 1994. It’s the end of summer and Gene is preparing for his high school drama friends’ final murder mystery slumber party. Before the group heads off to college, however, Gene wants to come out of the closet – but is terrified of what his sheltered Christian friends might think. What was planned as a celebration of friendship becomes a reckoning, and this formerly tight-knit group will have to decide whether to cling to the past or move forward in uncertainty.

Jonathan Wysocki’s nostalgic, funny debut feature Dramarama is a poignant love letter to drama nerds, late bloomers, and the intense friendships that mark our youth.

Why This Film

Dramarama is a semi-autobiographical film rooted in director Jonathan Wysocki’s memories as a Catholic, closeted gay teen who channeled his repression into the theater. While there are many films about the coming out ‘moment’, Dramarama delves into the uncertainty and struggle of that process to recognize that every person’s journey is unique.

Although many sectors of society have come a long way with LGBTQ+ acceptance since the film’s 1994 setting, queer teens across the country continue to struggle in unsafe and non-affirming environments. The rates of homelessness, abuse, and self-harm among LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionate to cis straight youth. Dramarama provokes conversations about the complexities of the coming out process in vulnerable spaces - and serves as an example of how allyship can open doors for those in need.

Dramarama celebrates its band of outsiders through a common safe space for queer teens: the theater! In search of their own identities, the characters use the creative freedom of drama to deal with emotions and desires: experimenting with who they want to be. A rare spotlight on the imaginative antics of drama kids, the film places its thespians center stage in a universal story about the fear of leaving one of life’s chapters for the next.