This is Our Story (PACE revue)
Where: Isabelle Reader Theatre1026 Goldstream Ave.
When: April 17-19, 23-26, 7 p.m.(2 p.m. matinées April 18, 19, 26)
Tickets: $12; students and seniors, $10.
Info: 250-474-3081
Just when Calum Worthy thought his life couldn’t get more surreal, he found himself in Whoville after running behind what was once home to Desperate Housewives.
“I was so happy because it’s always been a dream of mine to shoot there,” said Worthy, recalling his nocturnal adventures at Universal Studios while filming Mostly Ghostly 2: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? In the film inspired by R.L. Stine’s books, the Claremont graduate, who plays aspiring filmmaker Dez in the Disney hit Austin & Ally, plays the older brother of a kid who can speak to ghosts.
Shooting what he describes as a cross between Casper and Ghostbusters with a cast including Ryan Ochoa and Joan Rivers as his wacky grandma has been “a blast,” said Worthy, who flew home early Wednesday after an overnight shoot to start rehearsing for This is Our Story, School District 62’s annual PACE musical-comedy revue that opens tonight.
Worthy, 23, filmed on the same block as Back to the Future and while sneaking around at night learned Wisteria Lane was near the Whoville sets seen in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
It prompted flashbacks to the first time he visited Universal at age 18 to meet a casting executive at Amblin Entertainment who told him his hero, Steven Spielberg, was in the next office.
“I must have blacked out,” he recalled with a laugh. “I must have looked like such a loser after I ran out of there with all this Universal swag I picked up.”
Mostly Ghostly 2 is one of three movies the loyal PACE alumnus is shooting while on hiatus from Austin & Ally, which airs in Canada on Family Channel.
After hosting this weekend’s PACE shows that his mother Sandra Webster-Worthy has directed for 28 years, he flies to North Carolina in May to shoot Wishing Out Loud — “a kids’ romantic comedy, a Cinderella story about a girl who falls for a teen celebrity who comes to town.” He’ll return to B.C. in June to shoot the horror movie Blackburn.
“It’s the opposite of anything I’ve been doing,” he said. “It’s about a rich, arrogant teenager who brings friends for a road trip to an abandoned cabin that was haunted.”
The Victoria native’s career has blossomed since he made his screen-acting debut at age nine in the Fox series Night Visions, followed by his starring role in the BBC miniseries I Was a Rat. He has since appeared in films from Dr. Dolittle 3 to Rapture-Palooza with Anna Kendrick and TV shows including Smallville, Supernatural and Flashpoint.
“It’s gotten a bit more difficult,” he admits, referring to his Disney stardom. “Sometimes it’s hard to sleep on planes, like when I flew back from North Carolina and people kept waking me up to take pictures.”
He was returning to Los Angeles from Wilmington, N.C., after being greeted by 5,000 fans during yet another promotional appearance, this time in tandem with the city’s Azalia Festival.
“Sometimes you can’t get through all the kids and I feel awful. We’re all so grateful to be on a show so many people watch,” he said, noting many fans braved three-hour lineups.
“I’m sure their parents would rather be doing anything else,” Worthysays with a laugh. “Especially the dads. They’re like, ‘What show are you on again?’ ”
One of Worthy’s biggest recent thrills this year was becoming a staff writer on Austin & Ally with support from producers Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert.
After Disney picked up Coppertop Flop, the web-driven series showcasing the wacky persona he collaborated on with two other PACE alumni — writer Derek Baynham and editor Morgan Waters — he got to write his own Austin & Ally episode.
“It was the coolest opportunity,” said Worthy, who wrote the Eggs and Extraterrestrials episode during his Christmas break in Victoria.
The actor and dancer and his Coppertop Flop partners Baynham and Kelly May also recently sold an animated show to Dreamworks, and he guest-starred on the YTV series Some Assembly Required.
Another highlight was when he walked into his dressing room one day and was greeted by a famous Coppertop Flop fan — Ashley Tisdale — seeking his input for a new project.
“I had a huge crush on her growing up, so this was my high school dream come true.”
The busy actor says he always tries to find time to come home each spring to participate in the annual PACE shows featuring more than 300 school district performers.
Worthy, who will sign autographs and pose for photographs during intermission, co-wrote a spoofy Broadway showtune titled Let’s Make It Bigger with musical director Taylor Homewood. This year’s show features selections from musicals such as Shrek, The Addams Family, Bring It On, The Little Mermaid, Fame, Matilda! and Rent, with PACE alumni participating in Seasons of Love.
“This program really supported me when I was getting into this industry so it’s a great way to thank them,” said Worthy. “If you’re moving forward, it’s a great way to show off any skills you have.” [email protected]