ABOUT GABRIELLA: She's brainy but painfully shy -- and boy, can she nail the karaoke notes cold.

PLAYED BY: Jenny Gulley, 19, of Raleigh.

HIGH SCHOOL: Athens Drive, Raleigh. Now attends Wake Techincial Community College but is taking time off to film "The Marc Pease Experience," in which Ben Stiller stars as a teacher directing a high school musical production of "The Wiz."

FAVORITE STAGE ROLES: Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz," Mrs. Johnstone in "Blood Brothers," Susan in "Tick, Tick...Boom!" Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors" and Germaine in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile."

BOYS KISSED ON STAGE: Four -- one of them twice.

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL" VIEWINGS: Three.

HOW SHE'S LIKE GABRIELLA: "She just sings because she really, really enjoys it. She doesn't like people staring at her. That's like me as well. I do it because I love to do it, not because of the attention that it gets you."

HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUE: "I was a theater person and proud to admit it."

WHAT SHE WOULD SAY TO GABRIELLA: "Don't fall for the jocks, 'cause they'll break your heart."

WOULD YOU EVER DATE A GUY LIKE TROY?: "Yeah, I would. I like the pretty boys."

RYAN EVANS

ABOUT RYAN: The dimmer half of the dancing Evans duo shows off his hats as dance moves.

PLAYED BY: Clayton Bailey, 17, of Raleigh.

HIGH SCHOOL: Wakefield.

FAVORITE ROLES: Alfie in "A Man of No Importance," Benjamin in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Nikko the flying monkey in "The Wizard of Oz."

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL:" VIEWINGS One.

HOW HE'S LIKE RYAN: "Obviously, I love to perform and sing and dance. But I think he is like the stereotypical drama guy in high school. ... I just don't think I'm like that. I hang out with other groups of people in school. And have friends that are jocks and stuff like that."

EVER PERFORM WITH HIS BROTHERS?: "No. They're both sports all the way."

WHAT HE WOULD SAY TO SHARPAY: "I would probably tell her to cool it. Cool off. Take it easy. Maybe the hairspray is getting to her."

HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUE: "I wouldn't really say I have a clique, because a lot of friends are jocks and of course I'm friends with the drama people. ... I don't have a lot of time to hang out with people from school lately, just because I'm so busy with all this that's going on."

CROSS-CLIQUE DATING: "I dated cheerleaders all throughout middle school. I went through, like, four in a row."

SHARPAY EVANS

ABOUT SHARPAY: She sings, dances, schemes -- whatever it takes to get the role.

PLAYED BY: Cameron Wade, 20, of Raleigh.

HIGH SCHOOL: Riverside, Durham. Now a junior at Elon University (taking a semester off).

FAVORITE ROLES: Carrie in "Carousel," understudy to multiple roles in "A Chorus Line."

"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: " VIEWINGS Three.

HOW SHE'S LIKE SHARPAY: "I'm very, very passionate about this art, about my craft, just like she is. ... I don't know that I would call myself obsessive like she is. But we definitely share an extreme passion for what we do. And I'm not going to lie: I do enjoy the spotlight from time to time."

EVER PERFORM WITH HER BROTHER?: Yes -- he has accompanied her on drums.

WHAT SHE WOULD SAY TO RYAN: "I'd probably say, 'Let's go shopping' or something. He seems like some of these fellows in my life who are great shopping buddies."

HIGH SCHOOL CLIQUE: "Me and all my friends did chorus and theater, but at same time we were always at the football games and basketball games. So it wasn't as exclusive as it was depicted in 'High School Musical.' ... One of my great friends, who was a star basketball player, was also a fantastic singer and was really involved in chorus. There was a lot of 'cross-cliqueage' that went on."