Thursday, August 16, 2007

Disney’s “High School Musical 2” has ties to Fort Worth, Arlington ISD

By Pegasus News wire

There’s strong local interest in “High School Musical 2”, the movie sequel set to debut Thursday night on the Disney Channel. That’s because a movie crew descended on Fort Worth ISD this past spring to detail the Western Hills High School and Arlington Heights High School production of "High School Musical." The special stage production of Disney's popular movie was a joint project of the two schools, and filmmakers taped the auditions, rehearsals and performances for a special documentary set to air this fall on the Disney Channel.

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Western Hills and Arlington Heights were among six schools across the nation considered for the documentary. The two schools had already planned a summer production of "High School Musical," and following a site visit from the production company, were chosen for the project. Cabin Creek Films began shooting in Fort Worth on May 31st and followed the production process and the students involved in the musical.

The documentary was directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple (American Dream and Harlan County U.S.A.).

"It was an exciting experience," said Julia Worthington, co-director and Western Hills theater arts director this past spring of the Disney documentary crew. "I think the students were a little daunted by the cameras and crew at first, but the crew was incredibly gracious to us. They were great about explaining the process to the students and helping them through the filming."

The co-production of "High School Musical" marked the fourth year that Western Hills and Arlington Heights have partnered for a summer musical production. The partnership, called H2O for a Hills-Heights Operation, was a four-week program running from 12-5pm each day. For "High School Musical," there was a cast of 45, with current and former students helping with props, staging, and also assisting the film crew.

"It… [was] our most ambitious project yet - no doubt about it," said Worthington. "When [co-director and Arlington Heights theater director] Ann Hunter and I started H2O, we wanted it to be a fun four-week program for the students. It's amazing how exciting this has been - it feels like Christmas."

The Western Hills/Arlington Heights production of Disney's "High School Musical" ran June 27-29.

Source: FWISD

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