Several new and old faces will be incorporated into Disney’s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 as the Wildcats head to Camp Shallow Lake for a summer of fun. The show even includes Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) and Jason Earls (Hannah Montana) for long-time Disney Channel watchers and fans of the original High School Musical franchise.
While Corbin will be playing himself and surprising campers as the celebrity guest, Jason has taken on the role of Dewey Wood—the camp director. Although this is the first time both stars will appear on camera, it’s not the beginning of their involvement with the show.
Corbin Bleu and Jason Earles chat with Screen Rant about how they joined Season 3 of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Screen Rant: You have both been involved in Disney projects before. Corbin, you were a part of the original High School Musical movies. So how did you each get involved with this season of the show?
Jason Earles: I actually—Disney reached out to me before the very first season of the show to see if I would come on as sort of an acting coach/mentor for the kids go out with them to Salt Lake City as they, you know, start to put this show together. And so I’ve actually been around for the first couple of seasons helping out with that.
So when they asked me if I wanted to be the curmudgeonly camp director for season three for our summer camp season, I was like, “Absolutely. I cannot wait to play on camera with these kids.” And then with their bringing Corbin in as well—old buddy of mine—I just I need to do this now. Let’s make this happen.
Corbin Bleu: And same for me. It was a pretty easy yes. I had first got involved with the series when it did come out in the first season just to help promote it at D23. And I had gotten a chance to meet all the kids and see how incredible they were and to meet Tim and was just such a fan of how it was such a fresh take on the series—or on the franchise—and yet still upheld the legacy in such a beautiful way.
And being able to come back in this light to play myself and to have the arc that I do have in this season. It was such an easy thing to come back to.
Screen Rant: Well, that actually makes me wonder…what was it like to play yourself? You’re playing a character…but you’re playing yourself as well. So how was it? What’s that process like?
Corbin Bleu: It’s so much fun. It’s also weird, you know. I think the weirdest part is, you know, you always have that—sometimes you get called by your character name on set. Or sometimes, you know—it’s just always Corbyn. And especially because even in scenes, the kids are like fans of Corbin. So they also call him by his full name.
So I’m just constantly being called “Corbin Bleu! Corbin Bleu!” It’s really, it’s really, really strange. But one of the best parts about it is not only is it relaxed, because you do get to just have your own mannerisms or whatever, whatever it is. But also it’s so fun to be able to just sort of make fun of yourself and it’s a little bit of an out-of-body experience.
Jason Earles: It was really fun to watch in real life, as well, because the kids, in real life, are fans of Corbin. So like—as we got Corbin the first couple of times on set—they were just as nervous, as real young actors, as their characters were to have Corbin at the camp. And so these huge stars—I mean, Sofia Wylie and Josh Bassett, they’re stars in their own rights—to watch them sort of melt into little kids when Corbin was around was one of the cutest things I think I’ve ever seen ever.
Screen Rant: That is so awesome. Well then, Jason, what can you tell us about your character? You are playing the camp counselor.
Jason Earles: Yeah, I’m the camp director, Mr. Dewey Wood. He is a very curmudgeonly guy. He just likes to kill the joy in any situation he’s around. I’ve said it before, you’ve never seen anybody love to hate being someplace as much as Dewey does. But I think he secretly loves it. And I think he secretly loves providing this place for these young people to discover things about themselves and put on these shows and build these memories. He just likes to sort of poke fun at them as they’re doing it.
HSMTMTS Season 3 Synopsis
The Wildcats head to Camp Shallow Lake, a California sleepaway camp, where they and their fellow campers are primed for an unforgettable summer ripe with romance, curfew-less nights and a taste of the great outdoors. With a high-stakes production of “Frozen” on the horizon AND a drama-filled “docu-series” of the production, the Wildcats will attempt to show who is “best in snow” without leaving anyone out in the cold.
Check out our other interviews for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series:
- Joshua Bassett & Matt Cornett
- Frankie Rodriguez & Julia Lester
- Sofia Wylie & Dara Reneé
- Saylor Bell & Adrian Lyles
- Tim Federle
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Season 3 premieres July 27th on Disney+.
