FROM 2007
KAYCEE STROH
talks about her "High School Musical" auditions and its success

by Scott Wolf

KayCee Stroh is an amazing person. It's easy to see why "High School Musical" Director Kenny Ortega told her, "You're a star" at her audition. She is an all-around performer, but has a certain charisma with an enchanting personality, complete humility and a heart of gold. I'm just delighted to share our conversations with you.

Scott Wolf: Before you auditioned for "High School Musical," had you done any professional performing?

KS: Yes. I did a small film here in Salt Lake. It was a religious film, an LDS film. You probably could track it down somewhere. There’s blackmail out there. It was called “Ammon: A Mighty Change of Heart” by a company called “Liken the Scriptures.”

It was a singing, dancing kids show to teach them about the scriptures.

SW: How old were you when you did that?

KS: I believe I was about eighteen. I was teaching at that point and it was just completely by luck that one of my bosses was hired to be the choreographer for it and I auditioned for it and it worked out.

SW: What took you from that to “High School Musical”?

KS: Through the dance world I heard about a dance audition and they said they were looking for backup dancers of all different shapes and sizes and looks to be in a high school Disney show. It was still untitled at that point.

I just had this feeling in my gut and I said to my mom, “I really need to go to this, but I think I’ll take my students.” I thought I’d take my students so they can get experience with auditioning, because at that point I was already nineteen years old and I’d done hundreds of auditions in the dance world so I thought this would be really good for them.

So all my older friends that were my age that I still continued to dance with all chickened out on me. They were supposed to go to the audition, too, and at the very last minute they said, “You know, we look too old. We think we’re just not going to go, and it’s kind of a hassle.”

I thought, this is Disney and this could be the big break into acting and singing that I need. So I went to the audition and walked in and there were like five hundred dancers, all very typical of the dancer body. I just had a knee surgery… I had a blood clot in my calf and gained forty pounds. I was totally insecure but I thought, “I’m going to go, I’m going to take my students, and I’m going to make this a great experience.”

So I went to the audition and I ended up meeting Kenny Ortega and I auditioned for him and he ended up pulling me aside and he said, “You’re a star, and I love that you’re different,” and he even went so far to say, “You are kicking all these skinny girl’s butts!”

SW: Did you know who he was before that?

KS: No, I didn’t. I had heard his name thru the Olympics being here. He did the 2002 Winter Olympics so his name sounded familiar but when we were auditioning, one of the choreographers, Bonnie Story, walked in and announced him and then she said he was the Director of “Newsies.” My mouth dropped to the floor and I had the biggest adrenaline rush! That’s probably why I got the part.

SW: So you knew that film…

KS: I love “Newsies” and I watched it on those sick days so that just made him more of a hero to me. But, after Kenny said that to me, he said, “I want you to audition for a part. I looked at your résumé, and you’re not just a dancer. You’ve done singing and acting as well in junior high and high school so I really want you to audition for this quirky little part.” Then I didn’t hear anything for awhile. I was very nervous.

I ended up taking those same students onto a cruise a month later for them to go perform. As I was getting on the boat my mom called my cell phone and said, “You have a callback tomorrow!”

SW: Oh no!

KS: I was the chaperone of these kids! How do you say, “Go on… have fun guys, your parents are going to kill me!” So my mom called back the Casting Director and she told the Casting Director the situation.

The Casting Director called Kenny Ortega himself, and Kenny said, “I just have a feeling… I’ll wait for her.” So he waited for me to go on a cruise for a week.

SW: No kidding?

KS: I know, that never happens in Hollywood.

SW: He just really saw something in you.

KS: After I got back from the cruise I had to audition for Kenny. I had to sing, I had to read the lines. Then they had to send it in to Disney and Disney had to approve me. This was literally about four days before they started filming. So I was the very last one cast.

SW: So you just came off the cruise, auditioned, and went right into it?

KS: Yep, right into it.

SW: For your audition for Kenny, did you sing or just dance?

KS: I just danced for him, and when I came back and sang and read for him, he was like, “Oh my gosh… you have to do this! Why are you in Salt Lake?” which was so great because I’ve always had that feeling burning inside of me like, “I know this is what I was put on this earth to do, how is this going to happen for a little girl living in Utah?” I think it shows that if you really believe in your dreams and you know it in your heart, God will make it happen and you can make it happen.

SW: When did you realize how successful “High School Musical” is?

KS: I remember walking in to Wal-mart when I was home visiting my family. I remember looking around and seeing all this merchandise… “High School Musical” lip gloss, “High School Musical” pillows and I just had this moment where I started to laugh to myself and I thought, “Who would’ve thought this little movie in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a very little budget, that I just took a chance on auditioning for, and that Kenny Ortega took a chance on me, would be this huge phenomenon?” I just sat down and looked at my family and said, “I am so blessed.” I have been so blessed that I get to do what I have always known I needed to do.

SW: Then beyond all that you’re going to premieres and all kinds of things, right?

KS: Yeah, exactly, so then we started doing the red carpet. I was invited to the first DVD launch for the first “High School Musical.” That was my big, big moment when I realized, “Holy moly. This has happened for me,” because I remembered when I was a teenager we came to visit Hollywood once and we walked up Hollywood Boulevard and looked at the stars and I put my hands in Ginger Rogers handprints and stuff like that. I turned to my parents and I said, “Someday you watch. I’m going to be here and I’m going to be a star and I’m going to have a big premiere here someday.”

That was an incredible moment for me when Disney sent a town car to pick me up to go to this DVD launch. I had no idea where it was. I had no clue what the El Capitan was. Not a clue in the world, and all of a sudden the limo turned around the corner and I that it was Hollywood Boulevard and the streets were blocked off and there were screaming fans and I sat in the limo and I just started to cry. It was such an amazing moment. So that was another one of those moments where it was like, “This is a big deal!”

SW: It’s great that it affected you in that way so you can enjoy it and didn’t take it for granted.

KS: Everyday I still feel that way. You have to be that way. You have to love your fans. You have to love what you do because they can see it and it will project into your work.

I’m a very passionate person and I have a necklace I wear around my neck whenever we’re doing “High School Musical.” It’s a charm necklace and it says “passion” on it and it’s just to remind me to always give 110% to everything I do because people will see it.

SW: You just did the premiere for the “High School Musical 2” DVD.

KS: Yeah, a little different this time. The first time everyone was like, “This is KayCee Stroh, remember her? She was the “pop and lock” girl in the cafeteria, and now the photographers are screaming your name and the lights are flashing and you’ve got great fans. Just an amazing experience.

More from KayCee:
Her charity work and Kenny Ortega's yawn jar
"High School Musical" experiences

See other interviews

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in the interviews are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mouse Clubhouse. Mouse Clubhouse accepts no legal liability or responsibility for any claims made or opinions expressed within.