How to Start a Movie or Theater Club with Friends

Are you a fan of movies or the theater? Do you enjoy watching movies or plays? Have you ever wondered how you can start a movie or theater club with friends? Imagine watching a movie or attending a theater production, and then gathering with your club to discuss your opinions and feelings about the film or play. It’s kind of the same concept as a book club, but for movies and plays. 

Let’s take a look at how you can start your own movie or theater club.

Choose Your Focus

Choose whether you want to watch movies or attend theater shows. That way, you’ll attract more like-minded people who have the same interests. 

Also, you can even dive deeper and focus your club on certain genres, epic movies from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, for example. Or go out to see musical plays only. You can also choose to leave the club open to recommendations and all genres. It’s up to you, but it’s best if the plan is somewhat clear when you start to invite members into your movie or theater club. 

Invite Members

It’s best to start small with 5-10 friends. That way, the conversations remain focused yet still varied. You can always post in local social media groups to find more members if you want to increase your membership. 

Be clear with the members about the type of club you are creating, such as a movie or theater club, and also whether you have a specific theme or genre. Make sure that your members understand what they are getting into, so you won’t have too many dropouts from the group.

If you’re uncertain about the club plan, you can always ask the members for their suggestions and create one together. 

Create a Meeting Format

Decide how many times a month your club will watch a movie or play and then get together to talk about it. It can be once a week to once a month. 

Will your group get together to watch the movie or the play? Or will everyone watch at their preferred time? 

It is no longer necessary to have face-to-face meetings with the technology available to us today. Zoom meetings and even WhatsApp chats can be used for discussions. 

If meeting in person, will you host the meetings at your home or in a restaurant or café? Will members chip in for the cost of snacks and drinks?

You have a variety of options to choose from when creating your movie or theater club. 

Design a Playlist

Let every member suggest movies or plays to watch, and you can put together a playlist for the coming months from their suggestions.

Create a group chat on WhatsApp, a shareable Google Doc, or a Private Facebook page to share with each member.  

Here are some playlist suggestions:

• Oscar Award Winners
• Women Over 50 Main Roles
• Movies Directed by Women
• Movies Based on Books
• Musical Plays based on Books
• Black & White Movies

Read more: 14 Movies to Watch Starring Strong and Stylish Older Women.

Invite Engaging Discussions

Make the discussions focused and engaging by preparing some questions that the members can take turns answering.

Examples of questions for the group:

• Which scene stood out to you the most?
• Which performance was the strongest?
• How did the movie/play make you feel?
• How would you have directed it differently?
• Which scene stuck with you?
• Would you have cast different actors? And who?
• Would you watch this movie/play again?

You can always allocate a specific time for each member to speak and use a timer to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity. This is especially useful if your group has a lot of people in it.

Stay Flexible and Keep It Fun

Not all meetings will create deep, meaningful discussions, and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes it will be light-hearted with lots of laughter. Make sure everyone feels included and heard. Be open to suggestions in order to keep your group focused and fun.

Read more: Play Reviews for Theater Lovers.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you plan on starting a movie or theater club with your friends? Are you already part of a movie/theater club? Do you have any other tips and ideas about starting a movie/theater club? Share your experience with our community. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.