KayCee Stroh: 'Incredibly Blessed'
One of the stars of High School Musical 3 talks about the hottest franchise on the planet, and how her faith plays a role in her work.
by Carolyn Arends | posted 10/27/2008
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KayCee Stroh, 24, appears in all three High School Musical movies as Martha Cox, a smart and shy student whose passion for hip-hop breaks the "brainiac" mold.
Stroh also appears in video clips for Simply Youth Ministries' "Wildcats Weekend," a free youth group curriculum connected to High School Musical 3 that was designed by Saddleback Church's Kurt Johnston.
Stroh (right) and her HSM co-stars
Like the character she plays, Stroh, a devout Mormon, defies conventions, enjoying Hollywood success but eschewing Hollywood excess. CT Movies recently spoke with her by phone, just a day before the release of what is now the No. 1 movie in America.
How did you land your role in the first High School Musical?
KayCee Stroh: After I graduated high school, I started teaching dance to all ages of kids, and I heard about this little audition here in Salt Lake City for a Disney movie. It was untitled. They just needed a bunch of backup dancers. I knew the audition would be a great experience for my students, so I took them. And then I thought, "Why not? While I'm there, I'll take a shot at it." So I went to the audition and danced for [the director] Kenny [Ortega]. And Kenny pulled me aside afterwards and he said, "I love you. You just shine from the inside and you're so different. And I think that you could be the perfect Martha Cox. So I have this role I want you to audition for." About a month later I was picked from out of the 500 dancers that showed up to be Martha Cox. So I tell everyone I'm incredibly, incredibly blessed.
Did you sense right away that you were working on a project that would be a hit?
Stroh: Well, it was my first bigger movie. The only things I had previously were a few religious films. So I thought that every project was this wonderful. It wasn't until the finale of the first movie that Kenny got tears in his eyes and said, "You guys, I really think we have something special here. This is different." So by the end of the movie I think we knew we had something to be proud of. But none of us knew that it would be a global phenomenon.
Why do you think it's been so successful?
Stroh: Two things. First, I think it's because our characters are very relatable. Everyone, including adults, can look back on their high school experience and see themselves. And the kids can relate because they're going through it in real life, and they're relating to the emotions and situations that the characters are going through.
The second part is the fact that this generation is on negative overload. Everything on TV is sex and drugs and violence, and that's what seems to sell right now. I think this generation was ready for something a little different. It's okay to be happy. It's okay to have that happy-go-lucky storyline and a little bit of cheesiness and positivity in our life. That's chiefly what we used to go to the movies for. Look at World War II. Things were bad, and everyone went to the movies because it was a way to escape and use their imaginations. But this generation hardly ever uses their imagination anymore. It's all just about [materialism]. I think [High School Musical] shocked society because it proved that people are ready for good things and cleanliness and positivity.
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