LOS ANGELES, California??I would love to go to the Philippines,? Zac Efron, star of ?High School Musical 3: Senior Year? and the on- and offscreen boyfriend of costar, Fil-Am Vanessa Hudgens, told us in a recent interview.

?It has always been one of my goals,? said the actor who plays Troy in the feature film installment of the hugely popular series. ?My dad has been to the Philippines several times. He always comes back with stories of his adventures, so I?d like to experience that. We just haven?t been invited yet (laughing), but we?ll make it there soon enough, I?m sure.? Paging Walt Disney Motion Pictures Philippines, the distributor of ?HSM3? in Manila.

Of Vanessa, Zac said: ?She has grown up, as all of us have. She continues to amaze me with her talents, with every installment of ?High School Musical.? She?s turning into a woman. It has been great to watch her grow.?

Kenny Ortega, who directs again and shares choreography duties with Fil-Am Charles ?Chucky? Klapow and Bonnie Story, gushed about Vanessa: ?She?s a beautiful young girl. For me, it must have been what it felt like to have Natalie Wood in front of your camera. She?s so exquisite! Also, she?s quite shy, gentle and sweet. She has a kind of fragility.

Extensive background

?When you?re with Vanessa, you lower your voice and go slower. But then, she?s a firecracker, too. She has an extensive background in dance, so she?s well-versed and has a lot of technique. She studied voice, too. She?s not just one of those kids who sings pop music. I?d say she has grown and evolved the most as an actor, from the beginning of ?High School Musical? to where she is now. I?m proud of her. She has really come a long way!? Below is part two of excerpts of our press con with Vanessa:

You and Zac are almost inseparable.

We?re very supportive of each other. But, we?re doing our own things. We have different projects coming out.

Since this might be the last ?HSM,? you and Zac might no longer work together?at least, not for a while. What are your thoughts on that?

(Laughing) Let?s see. We both have been doing this for a while now. I actually started when I was 9 years old, so I love what I do, and I?m going to continue doing it. He?s got great things in his future, so we?re just excited to see where it all goes next.

Can I read something from an Internet search engine? It says, ?At the peak of her career, Vanessa Hudgens was the envy of every teenage girl.? This makes it sound like you?re almost dead.

Thanks! (Laughing)

Amazing things

It?s a little sad that some people think you?ve reached the peak of your career at 19.

I don?t think of it that way. ?HSM? has done amazing things. It?s incredible that it?s blown up like it has, but like I said, I?m excited to see what comes next. That?s so weird (laughing). That makes it sound like I?m dead. I?m just excited to be able to continue to do what I love. Hopefully, I?ll be able to do things that are as big as ?HSM.?

Are you worried that you could be typecast because of the success of ?HSM??

A lot of people only know me from ?High School Musical.? But, fact is, I?ve already done two other movies. I?m thankful to be in ?High School Musical,? and it?s amazing that it?s blown up like it has, but at the same time, I?ve also done other things. I can play different characters. ?Bandslam,? the next movie I have coming out, is so different. My character is a lot darker than Gabriella. She?s very deadpan. Like I said, I love being able to play different characters, so hopefully, I?ll be fine.

Can you tell us more about ?Bandslam??

Yeah, it?s directed by Todd Graff, who also wrote and directed ?Camp.? Our cinematographer is Eric Steelberg who did ?Juno,? so the movie was shot really beautifully. We have Lisa Kudrow, Alyson Michalka and a newcomer, Gaelan Connell. I?m passionate about this movie. There?s good music in it, although it?s not necessarily a musical. We don?t break out into song and dance, but there?s a lot of music in it. I play a character named Sam. She definitely has her own personality, so it was a lot of fun to play her. At the end of the movie, I actually come out with a flying V and get to have my rock-star moment.

Which do you love to do most?sing, act or dance?

I grew up doing musical theater, so singing, acting and dancing go hand in hand for me. I?ve always loved doing all three. Ever since I was young, I was doing everything I could to improve myself in all fields. I?ve been working toward being an actress a little more. But, singing and dancing are such a big part of my life. I spent seven years completely dedicated to dancing, where it was all I did. My parents bought me unlimited dance lessons at my dance studio, because I would spend all day there?to dance and learn as much as I could. Dancing, singing and acting are huge factors in my life.

Second album

What?s special about your second album, ?Identified??

It?s fun to do albums because I get to show people the real me, not a character. I got to play with my own sound more. It wasn?t what people have usually heard from me. I got to work with great people, like JR and Dr. Luke, and I got to do a duet with Lil Mama.

When you read or watch the news today, you realize that high school is not such a sweet, innocent time anymore. There?s crime and drug abuse. What type of positive message are you sending out to younger kids with this utopian view of high school?

One thing I?m really proud about ?High School Musical? is the fact that it doesn?t have sex, drugs or violence. It?s an honest, feel-good movie and, within that, there are lessons and good morals. The characters are striving for the right thing.

This movie is about being your own person, fulfilling your expectations rather than those of others. It?s very accessible to children. It lets you get away from all that bad news for an hour and a half. You can enjoy a fun movie, and you can?t help but sing and dance afterward. So, I feel that, even though the film doesn?t give the real perspective of high school, it?s a good one, because it does give kids hope.

This film is about making choices in your young lives. What were some of the choices or decisions that you?ve come to regret?

I feel like I?m growing up and I?m learning. Everything happens for a reason. I wouldn?t take back anything I?ve done. I?m basically in control of what?s happening next. At times, it?s been harder than others, but I feel so lucky to be where I?m at.

Do you enjoy being on the ?HSM? concert tour?

Touring is a part of my music career that I probably love the most because, for me, being onstage is like being at home. I get nervous right before I go on, but as soon as I hear the audience applaud, I?m put at ease. I?m in my element. It?s the adrenaline rush that you can?t get from anything else! And, it?s amazing being able to travel.

Opportunity

Can you talk about going to the big screen with ?HSM3,? and how this could be the end of a journey for the cast?

The third one was a lot of fun because it gave us the opportunity to do something even bigger, but it?s also like a thank you to the fans for making ?HSM? what it is. The thing that I love about these movies is that we don?t put any pressure on ourselves. From the very beginning, we were just having fun doing what we loved. That?s what we also did when we came back for the second one.

We wanted to continue that with the third movie, so we set aside the expectations. We just did what we loved to do, and we had the most amazing time doing it! Finally, being able to do bigger numbers and wear crazier costumes was a lot of fun. Also, the fact that it was a play within a play gave us the opportunity to be more theatrical. ?High School Musical? has been the most amazing journey. I was home-schooled, so I got to somewhat experience high school through this movie.

The best part is the friends I?ve made. We?ve been through so much together. We?ve grown up in the business, and it?s just nice to be around people who understand you. We?ve shared these moments together. The last day of shooting was very emotional because we?ve always been able to look forward to something, like the tour or another movie. Just knowing that this was our last time together doing ?High School Musical? was just?I can?t even talk about it! It?s really emotional. And we?ve had the most incredible time.

There was a lot of crying then?

A lot of crying. It just didn?t stop. We just kept on crying and crying. It was bad!

E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.