High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens has signed on to play a former stutterer in “Will,” a comedy-drama set to begin shooting in Austin next month.

Will is the story high school outcast and a popular girl who form an unlikely bond through their shared love of music. They assemble a like-minded crew of misfits and form a rock group to perform in a battle of the bands competition at their school.

Vanessa will play Sam, a fifteen-year-old former stutterer now speaking slowly and deliberately, who becomes romantically entangled with the lead outcast.