As if auditioning in front of your friends weren't stressful enough.
Disney-owned ABC is planning to give the supersuccessful High School Musical franchise a dose of reality this summer with a new series chronicling a group of youthful song-and-dance enthusiasts as they bust their humps to snag a spot somewhere within the professional HSM realm.
High School Musical: Summer Session premieres July 20 on ABC, which has announced open casting calls in California, with details TBA, and another May 7 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed hopefuls of all shapes and sizes, ages 16 to 22, are welcome to give it a go.
Casting scouts will also fan out nationwide to search for promising newcomers who, if discovered, would get to jump into the final round of auditions without having to go through all the waiting in line, nail-biting and those out-of-tune renditions of "I Feel Pretty" being rehearsed in the hallway by those who won't make it past the first verse with the judges.
ABC said Thursday that further details, such as the grand prize and the identity of the show's host and judges, will be revealed at a later date.
Meanwhile, the scripted heart of HSM beats on later this month, when the whole gang—Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale et al.—is scheduled to return to Salt Lake City, site of the first two installments, to start shooting the big-screen threequel, High School Musical 3: Senior Year.
A spokesman for the local school district says that although filming will take place during the school year this time around, most of the drama at the fictional East High will occur before and after school is in session to minimize disruptions.