Diego Peralta
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series allowed an entirely new generation of young viewers to fall in love with the concept of teens finding the solution to their problems through musical theatre. And the character that made the plays possible was Miss Jenn (Kate Reinders), the lovely teacher who never gave up on the kids’ dreams, talents and hopes. Awards Radar had the opportunity to interview Reinders about her role in the series. The performer was excited to talk about many different aspects of her character and the production created for television by Tim Federle.
Reinders had plenty of praise for the young stars of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, who shared the screen with her over the course of four years: “The most challenging thing about playing Miss Jenn in the final season is that it was the final season. I love playing Miss Jenn. And I loved working with those kids on and off the screen. To know that it was coming to an end was very bittersweet, but wonderful at the same time. I knew they were going to go off and do more amazing things.”
The actress knew how important Miss Jenn would be as the mentor of her students, which is why she was careful with the inspirations she based the character on: “I think my Miss Jenn was a mashup of a bunch of different teachers I had growing up. I was lucky to have many, many teachers that encouraged me and supported me like Miss Jenn tries to do. And I also think that I pulled from Miss Jenn with people that I know now. There was a big part of our creator and writer, Tim Federle, in Miss Jenn. A lot of his spirit.”
Reinders had a very successful background as a stage actress before joining the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. When asked if the role of Miss Jenn made her miss the stage, the actress gave her insight on the connection between theatre and television in the series: “Yes and no. Really, Miss Jenn was the best of both worlds. Because the stage was not very far away from us, but we got to go further than a (stage) show gets to go in a night. So I love that Miss Jenn’s journey started and kept going, and kept going for all those years.”
Miss Jenn had many students over the course of the show, but appeared that the character had a constant favorite in Carlos (Frankie Rodriguez). Here’s Kate Reinders had to say when confronted with the idea: “(laughs) For the record, I don’t have favorites! I love Frankie Rodriguez. I think I was really lucky, because Miss Jenn and Carlos do connect on the stage at the same level. They have a secret language to each other. And I think Carlos and I sort of have that, too. My soul loves his soul, if that makes sense.”
Reinders was very happy to be a part of the legacy that began with the release of the High School Musical movies, which only got to grow with the introduction of the series to Disney+: “I developed a greater appreciation for it. Of course, by getting closer to something, you get to know it better. But it became very clear how High School Musical movies touched an earlier generation. And they were so powerful that they keep touching future generations. It was an honor to be a part of that, honestly.”
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series follows new characters who study at East High. Due to the fact that the teens go to school in the same place that served as a filming location for the original High School Musical movies, Miss Jenn encourages her drama club to bring the story of Troy and Gabriella from the screen to the stage. The result was four seasons of heartwarming drama, comedy twists and turns that proved that lightning could strike twice for the Disney franchise. All seasons of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series are available for streaming on Disney+.
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