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The Cast
The underclassmen each bring their own skills and passion to the reality series. Below is a brief description as well as an assessment by Producer Ed Portillo.
Amy Maier — Kent, Wash.
The veteran. Since Amy has been involved in camp ministry before, she takes the stress of day-to-day matters in stride. Makes perhaps the most intimate relationships with campers.
“She was a great one to have as an anchor for the group. She was calming and logical.”
Janet Wood —Pasadena
The rookie. Camp ministry is new to Janet and she finds out what it means to get out of her comfort zone. She is worried about her ability to relate with kids.
“By the end of the week her whole vision of what ministry should be about has changed.”
Emily Shubin — Brea
The analyzer. Emily analyzes each situation she’s in. She goes along with the group but with a sense of caution. She gives of herself selflessly which could potentially lead to burnout. Her profound sense of faith helps her minister to campers.
“She has a unique ability to pontificate her faith, to share her testimony.”
Andrew Gomez — Huntington Beach
The warrior. One could sum up his personality as Andrew vs. Everyone Else. Andrew is the youngest member of the cast and doesn’t really get along with them. He and Chris specifically have some comical run-ins. But he does get along very well with the campers and tries his best to make real relationships with them.
“He had some of the most intimate moments with the kids.”
Chris Rushing — Albuquerque, N.M.
The clown. Some could call him the “brooding clown” because behind the jokes lies a deep thinker. His testimony gives him the unique ability to speak into campers’ lives. He tells a lot of personal stories in his interviews and lets loose about how he feels about everyone.
“At any given moment he could make anyone laugh. He was really there for the staff and kids. His background gives him a deeper facet to his personality.”
Ryan Miller — Redlands
The straight man or the “Nice Guy.” He’s a peacemaker and a go-with-the-flow type guy. Ryan brings up the morale of the group with his sense of humor and positive attitude.
“It’s really reassuring to have him on a team.”
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HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — There’s nothing quite like a teen girl munching on a dust-covered squid tentacle to liven up summer Christian camp. For Ed Portillo it was one of those bizarre moments that make the summer ritual so endearing.
“It looked like this big ball of grime and dirt and fingerprints,” Portillo said, adding that as a member of the ministry team, he tried unsuccessfully to dissuade the youngster from her slimy appetizer.
“She was just gleaming, she was so proud,” he said.
Such episodes of connection happen millions of times each summer as adults interact with young people, using the language and culture of teens to model the love of Jesus.
Portillo, a graduate of Vanguard University, feels so strongly about the importance of Christian camp that he and his directing partners, Dan and David Holechek, are now shopping a pilot reality TV show chronicling six young adults as they minister at Alpine Camp and Christian Center, near San Bernardino’s Big Bear in California.
“All Summer Long With the Underclassmen” was taped last summer by Portillo’s State: Of The Art Productions in conjunction with the Holechek’s H2P company. With two Christian distributors expressing interest in the pilot, the team will resume filming this summer, going to Christian camps in California, Oregon, Arizona and Texas.
The Monterey Park producer said the concept for the show evolved out of his interest in the Delivery Boys, a comedic-drama team from Vanguard that uses entertainment to evangelize. As a student he spent one summer with the ministry team as they worked with young campers.
“I really jumped out of my comfort zone,” he said “I discovered I really didn’t have to say much, but I was just able to be there for them.”
Vision evolves
The experience was so positive he helped launch his own sketch comedy team called “Market Fresh Produce.” They produced a short video, which garnered more than 4 million views on You Tube, an online site that features amateur and professional videos. Because of the demand of the video short, a longer length version of the video was produced.
Recognizing the wide-reaching impact of film and video, Ed said he and his brother, Mike, began brainstorming ideas. Mike suggested tapping on Ed’s summer camp experiences.
A year later they began taping in Blue Jay. The cast includes six Christian college-age adults, three women and three men. The “The Underclassmen” team was selected through a rigorous application process designed to test their spiritual, emotional and comedic mettle, Portillo said. Before heading out to Alpine Camp to minister before the cameras, the six-some were trained through a two-week boot camp honing their performing, counseling and serving skills.
“They bring their own unique story and their own unique take for this whole thing,” Portillo said.
Because the show is reality TV, the cameras capture their interaction with each other, the staff and their young charges. It makes for tender and sometimes tense TV.
“There is going to be conflict naturally, but what it really focuses on is achievement and character,” he said. “The joy is seeing how they come out through that whole summer and seeing how they developed spiritually. That’s the soul of the show, I’d say. The growing spiritual maturity, that’s what’s unique about this program.”
Promoting camps
The summer’s film schedule includes a return to several California camps including the Alpine camp, plus the new venues of Angeles Crest Christian Camp in La Cañada, Hartland Christian Camp in Badger, Rock-N-Water Christian Adventure Camp in Coloma, and Calvin Crest in Oakhurst.
“Camp ministry has all of the same basic ideas, but they all have unique attributes that make up a unique story,” Portillo said of the changing shooting locations. “That’s where you get a lot of the authentic Christian moments. You are able to capture authentic Christian ministry. Every week you have a new mission field, with new people and new stories.”
Negotiations are ongoing for other camps in Oregon, Arizona and Texas. Portillo admits the concept has drawn some raised eyebrows.
“It takes a little while for them to warm up to the idea,” he said. “It is kind of hard. You don’t see Christian and reality TV in the same sentence.”
Although the series is entertaining, Portillo said his desire is to use the show to help promote the benefits of the age-old tradition of summer camp, which is declining. According to the Christian Camp and Conference Association, the median attendance at summer camps dropped 2 percent between 2004 and 2006, the last year of available data. The decline is even greater when measured against the year 2000, which recorded the highest summer camp attendance. In those six years summer camp attendance dropped by 18 percent. While summer camp is on the decline, all other camp attendance is on the rise and now constitutes 51 percent of all camper days.
“Camp ministry is on the decline,” he said. “It’s hard to get kids out of their video games, out of the house. You want to tell them, ‘Get out, experience God in the mountains.’”
For more information on the project, visit www.stateoftheartproductions.com.
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