Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with High School Musical: The Musical – The Series’ Mark St. Cyr

Mark St. Cyr is a man of many talents, and he’s putting them on display in his starring role as Mr. Mazzara in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical – The Series. The show follows a new group of Wild Cats who are putting on a production of the iconic franchise in the high school where the original films were shot. Mark’s character, Mr. Mazzara, is a STEM teacher who believes preparing his students with practical life skills is all that matters. Pop Culturalist caught up with Mark to chat about High School Musical: The Musical – The Series, Mr. Mazzara’s arc, and his off-Broadway play.

PC: Tell us about your character in High School Musical: The Musical – The Series and what attracted you to this project.
Mark: I play Mr. Mazzara. He’s East High’s resident STEM teacher. He’s really focused on making sure the students have practical, real-world skills as they graduate high school and enter the real world.

What attracted me to this role and to the show was when I got the audition sides. I had this really fun tête-à-tête scene opposite Miss Jenn, played by Kate Reinders, and I loved their witty, funny zingers. I was working on the audition and I thought, “This could be really fun. Whichever two actors get cast in this role, they’re going to have a lot of fun.” I was lucky that I was one of those two actors.

PC: What was your earliest memory of High School Musical?
Mark: My earliest memory was in freshman year of college. The first High School Musical came out when I was in high school. I was too cool for school at the time. [laughs] I was like, “I don’t care.” But I kept hearing how great it was. One day in my dorm during my freshman year, I was eating ice cream, and I put on the first High School Musical. I was like, “Okay, impress me! It can’t be that good.” I remember as soon as Zac and Vanessa were singing karaoke, I was like, “Oh no. They’re very charming.” [laughs] But I was still unsure. When “Get’cha Head in the Game” came up and Corbin Bleu and the guys were getting it, the jock in me, because I was an athlete in high school, really respected what they put together for that number. That basketball number was one to remember.

PC: How did you prepare to play Mr. Mazzara? He seems very different from who you are as a person.
Mark: Yeah, that was tricky! I noticed before I even had the role that what worked really well was this dry sense of humor—taking everything very literally and not having all the flowery emotional expressions in order to contrast with Miss Jenn. Part of preparing for Mr. Mazzara was knowing what was going to happen with Miss Jenn and trying to occupy space on the opposite side of the planet. So, we have the furthest distance to travel with the biggest difference in points of view.

Mr. Mazzara is easily misunderstood. It’s very easy to judge him as harsh and that he doesn’t have any fun or passion. But in actuality, he has a lot of passion in what he does. The key for me was finding something that I’m very, very passionate about. It’s not that he doesn’t love musicals. He just thinks science, math, technology, engineering are the gateways to solving the big problems. He undervalues the power of art for his own personal reasons.

PC: Will we learn more about why he is the way that he is?
Mark: Yeah! Tim Federle, our creator, has done a fantastic job of laying down depth behind all of the characters. Mr. Mazzara is no exception. By the end of Season 1, you will have a clearer perspective of Mr. Mazzara’s relationship with the arts.

PC: Will we see him have a change of heart and maybe break into song and dance?
Mark: I think the cool thing that they’ve done with Mr. Mazzara is he is a man of logic and understanding. So there is a way to shift his point of view, if you very literally make something clear. There are moments throughout the show where he has to reassess his point of view on certain people, activities, and performances. Watching him wrangle with his point of view as it’s adjusting and going back to what it is before, that’s part of the fun of watching someone who’s so different than the other nine characters and what they love. That push-pull is a lot of fun. I can say that he does have his point of view challenged.

PC: How does this television show differentiate itself from the films?
Mark: The entertainment has changed a lot, thankfully, since the first film came out. The first film did a great job for where it was in terms of what the storylines could be about and the diversity. The world has changed so much since then, and the show that we’re doing has changed as well to acknowledge that. Things like a boy interested in playing Sharpay and the teacher being open to it. We tease that in the trailer that Miss Jenn is open to that. I think that’s part of what’s speaking to the 2019 audience. We’re not just redoing it; we’re redoing it for this generation while still holding true to what the first generation that grew up on High School Musical loved. I think they’re really moving forward on the diversity and storylines.

PC: Besides being a multi-talented artist, you’re also a mentor. Did you share any words of wisdom with the cast?
Mark: [laughs] There are some things that I mentored the cast with, like life choices. But I also learn a lot from this cast. They teach me a lot too. I don’t go to this cast with the idea of mentoring them. If there’s an area that I see someone struggling with and I’ve been through that, I can jump in and share what I learn. But with this cast, I think of them as partners and equals. If anything, I’m trying to learn from them! This isn’t Sofia’s [Wylie] first round as a series regular. I’ve learned a lot from watching her and the energy that she leads the cast with. As far as mentorship, I’m looking to give back to people around the country. I’m writing a book right now that I plan to release in 2020 for aspiring actors—not these superstars that I’m working with—that might be starting in Montana or Louisiana. That’s who I’m looking to reach with mentorship is people who are just getting started in the country.

PC: Besides High School Musical: The Musical – The Series, you’re producing an off-Broadway play. Can you tell us about that?
Mark: Yeah! It’s a play called The Year of the Solar Eclipse. It’s an amazing, heartfelt play written by Aileen Kyoko. It follows these three female friends through one year in their life—the same year that the big solar eclipse happened here. The play takes place in New York City. They make a pact that they’ll return to the same place one year later. Over the course of the year, they each get in touch with their shadow side. It’s the side of themselves that they’ve been suppressing and haven’t been sharing with the world. They each have something different to learn in that year. There’s a ton of romance, intimacy, female empowerment, and people learning about their sexual identity and expression. It’s a really exciting play. It’s really heartfelt and very vulnerable. I think people are going to love it. It’ll be at the Wild Project from December 3rd to the 8th. It’s going to speak to women, and the men in the play are also fully fleshed. I think anyone who is in a transformational time in their own relationship is going to dig it. Aileen really nails relationship drama and comedy.

Who in the Cast is…

PC: Most like their character?
Mark: I think Frankie [Rodriguez] is most like his character. I would give runner-up to Kate Reinders as Miss Jenn.

PC: Most unlike their character?
Mark: Sofia Wylie or Matt Cornett. I would probably go with Matt Cornett because Sofia’s character is exceptional in the dance world, and Sofia and Gina share that. Dance isn’t Matt’s main thing, and his character is a triple threat. He considers himself more as a singer-actor. Dance is something that he took on this season, and he’s done a great job.

PC: Most likely to break into song?
Mark: Olivia Rodrigo is always singing a pop song and she doesn’t realize it. Every time I see her, she has a different pop song in her head. [laughs]

PC: Best singer?
Mark: Kate Reinders, the Broadway darling.

PC: The quickest to pick up choreography?
Mark: That has to be Sofia Wylie. No one else comes close.

PC: Most likey to nail a scene in one take?
Mark: This is hard! One take? I’ll go with Sofia. I remember seeing her do a dance number that was three minutes long. She’s singing, dancing, keeping the energy up without messing up.

To keep up with Mark, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch new episodes of High School Musical: The Musical – The Series every Friday on Disney+.

Photo Credit: Disney