20 Years Later, KayCee Stroh Looks Back On “High School Musical” And Breaking The Status Quo

KayCee: “Work This Out” was a monumental feat to film. We thought “Stick to the Status Quo” had a lot of moving parts — imagine now we’re in a tight kitchen. We were filming into the wee hours of the night, so we’re slap-happy and tired. Nobody wanted to be the one to mess it up and have to start over. It was definitely one of my personal favorites to film, even though it was a high-stress situation trying to get everything perfect. 

We had the opportunity to play off of each other. There was a little improv moment with Corbin [Bleu] and me. We’re both tap dancers, and Kenny saw us in rehearsal just playing around. He was like, “KayCee, Corbin, go at it during this little section.”

There’s a part where toast pops out, and that was all real. Monique [Coleman] and I had to perfectly time when we popped the toast.

Chris [Warren] and Ryne [Sanborn], who played Zeke and Jason, were my little best buddies. They made it a goal to make me laugh during the scene. It really felt like a bunch of kids away at summer camp, having the time of their lives, but also making this masterpiece.

“Work This Out” had my favorite lyrics for Martha. It was just so perfect. “Hit the mall with all my sisters!”