'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' heads to California for season 3 on Disney Plus

Season three of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" is streaming now on Disney+. It's a series about theater kids made by theater kids.

Kids like, Julia Lester, who plays Ashlyn and told Eyewitness News Entertainment Reporter Sandy Kenyon via Zoom that, "coming into this show, we all sort of had an advantage in a way of knowing what it feels like to love theater, and to be a high school student and to have this drive for performing and community, and a sense of love for each other."

After two seasons spent in Utah at the high school the original films made famous, this time the gang is at Camp Shallow Lake, a California sleep-away camp.

"It gave us all kind of a new spark and a new like sense of love for the show," Matt Cornett, who plays E.J. explained. "It added the next level to it."

"We were finally able to just see the sun," added Dara Renee who co-stars as Kourtney. "We have a little bit more comedy this season, a little bit more juice drama."

There's a bit more drama than in real life, perhaps, and Corbin Bleu from the original "High School Musical" movie normally doesn't show up at camp, but overall, 'authentic' is a world that does apply here.

Sofia Wylie said she can relate to her character Gina because she is just a few years older in real life.

"Going through what regular teenagers go through at the time that I'm playing a teenager is just I think, a blessing."

Frankie Rodriguez plays the franchise's first openly gay character, and he explained that "to be that kind of representation that I didn't get to see growing up. It's been really, very sweet."

Realism is also the province of a former camper named Tim Federle, who is the Creator and Executive Producer of "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series".

He said a trip to a camp in the Poconos when he was 12 changed his life. He played Daddy Warbucks in "Annie" and found his calling.

"I went into camp with a hobby and came out of it thinking I want this to be my job, and I was lucky enough that it got to be."

For Season 3, he's recreated that experience for his young cast. "It's about when you're a young person 2 weeks can change everything and I think the audience will hopefully be excited to kind of follow that journey."

"High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" is on Disney+ owned by the same parent company as ABC 7.