Exclusive Interview with
High School Musical 3's Kaycee Stroh
In
the High School Musical series, KayCee Stroh plays
Martha, the brainy girl who secretly longs to be a dancer. She
has also appeared on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zach
and Cody and modeled for Torrid, a fashion line for
plus-size women. The PTC recently interviewed KayCee about
High School Musical and the entertainment industry today.
PTC:
High School Musical 2 remains the single highest-rated
program ever shown on cable, and High School Musical has
become a tremendous phenomenon. Do you think its
popularity is due to the fact that it is something that parents
and children can enjoy together?
KC: Absolutely! I think there two things that have made
High School Musical a big success. The first is that
our characters are easy for kids to relate to, and even adults
can look back to their high school days and think, ‘Remember
that girl in my high school? She was a lot like that character!’
I think subconsciously adults are doing that and they don’t
realize it.
The
second reason is that this generation is just overloaded with
sex and drugs and violence on TV and in their videogames. I
mean, some of the videogames I’ve seen are just disgusting. I
think that kids today are on overload, and they’re ready for a
happy-go-lucky, positive message in their life. So much in
entertainment today is so negative. I think kids long to use
their imaginations again, to just be kids and have fun.
PTC: High School Musical has made you, and everyone
else in it, huge role models for teens. How do you feel about
that responsibility, and what kinds of messages do you think
it’s important to send to the kids who are looking up to you?
KC:
For me, being a role model is such a huge blessing! It’s not
every person that gets to have a job that is so rewarding, and
that is so inspiring. There’s nothing like going to work every
day knowing that you’re doing something that will affect people
positively. And there’s nothing like getting e-mails or fan mail
that says, ‘You inspire me. I’m different, and I don’t dress
like a typical girl,’ or, ‘I don’t fit in. I don’t party. I
don’t do things like that.’ It just makes my job so rewarding,
and I’m grateful to be someone that others look up to.
PTC: Who were some of your role models?
KC: Growing up, I absolutely loved Aubrey Hepburn! But even
more, I would say my grandmother. She and Audrey Hepburn are
similar in that my grandmother radiates class and just lights up
a room when she walks in. So I would say that my whole life I’ve
worked very hard to be like her and to have that trait. I think
that it comes from inside a person, that sense of poise and
class, far more than it’s about external appearances.
PTC: Recently, there’s been a lot of attention given to the
way that the media sexualizes young women, and on the negative
affect this has, especially on young girls. High School
Musical avoids these stereotypes; but what do you think the
entertainment industry could do to send healthier messages to
girls?
KC:
Well, I understand that you can have a little bit of fun and be
sassy, but I think the entertainment business needs to realize
that you don’t have to be naked to be attractive. I don’t know
what that is about. It would be nice if they would catch on that
true attractiveness comes from who a person is inside. Sometimes
I see what people are wearing and I’m just in shock.
The
music industry really concerns me. I hear eight-year-olds
rapping about their ‘hos’ and their money and their ‘bling.’ I
understand that kind of music can be funny for the older kids
who get it, but I don’t think they’re realizing how much it is
affecting our children and our next generation. And I’m just
saddened by it.
PTC: Is there anything else you’re working on right now?
Where can we expect to see you in the future?
KC: Well, right now I’m co-writing some music. Number one on
the Life List of Things To Do is to put out an album. And number
two is to do some dramatic acting. I really feel like I’ve
locked in the comedic side of my personality. People can see
that I can do spunky and quirky and things like that, and I
don’t want to write those things off, but I would love to prove
myself as an actress. And third, I would love to do some
Broadway. So I guess those are the three life goals, the things
that I’m working on. I’m also getting married…
PTC: Congratulations! Is he someone we know from High
School Musical?
KC: (laughs) No, he is not. He is part of the gang, but he
actually has a local production company in Utah. I met him when
I was visiting back home, and he asked me to marry him during
High School Musical 3.
PTC: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
KC: I would like to say thank you so much for supporting me
and the rest of the cast and the movies. We would not be where
we are right now without them.
And
I would love to just tell my fans to hold strong. In the world
today, in this generation, there’s so much that’s difficult and
negative going on, and I want them to know: be true to yourself.
It’s okay to be the strong one. It’s okay to be the different
one.
To
find out more about KayCee, visit her website:
www.KayCeeStroh.com
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