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Ready to make a scene

More than 6,500 high schoolers convene in Tampa for four days of workshops and live performances.

TAMPA - Their T-shirts say things like: "Shakespeare is my homeboy."

Their wardrobe ranges from the hip to the funky.

And their facial expressions, they admit, can be over-the-top.

They are more than 6,500 high schoolers who have descended on the streets of downtown Tampa for the annual Florida State Thespian Festival.

For four days, drama reigns.

They aren't competitive, they say. Just super motivated, said Juliana Alvarez, 17, of Miami Palmetto Senior High School.

"We all want to do our best," she said Thursday. "Tension gets a little high."

There aren't many tears - unless, of course, the script calls for it. And there's plenty of camaraderie.

This year's festival, themed "The Play is the Thing," opened with state director Michael Higgins telling the future stars that even the outcast and the troubled find homes here.

You feel different at your school, but here, everybody belongs, he told them.

The festival, in its 32nd year, has been convening in Tampa since 1989, said Don Jones, program chair for the Florida State Thespian Conference.

Jones said the group returns to Tampa because the area welcomes the students. Restaurants alter their menus for quick and easy service. Hotels offer reduced rates (the teens occupy virtually every hotel in downtown) and sea gulls along the riverfront find themselves outnumbered.

They mix with the business crowd, teenagers in capris riding alongside suits and ties on a lunchtime trolley to restaurants.

"The only problem we've encountered is there aren't enough places for the kids to eat at night," Jones said. "But everyone has been great."

Their days are packed with activities, from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Curfew is at midnight.)

During the day, buses run from the Tampa Convention Center to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, to the Tampa Theatre, the venues where everything takes place. Many of the kids chose to walk.

They attend workshops in musical theater, dance, improvisation, acting and comedy. There are even lessons in makeup, dialect and yoga.

And they show off their flair for the dramatic.

"We are so late!" one girl said in exasperation (she wasn't acting) as she and other members of her troupe rushed to Morsani Hall at the Performing Arts Center to catch one of five one-act plays Thursday.

This is where the best troupes in the state, who won their district competitions, showcase their talents.

At noon, a packed house roared with laughter as the Nease High School troupe from St. Augustine put o n The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World. There was only implied sex, drugs, homosexuality and profanity.

In the evenings, the state's best drama troupes perform full productions.

Thursday night, three schools put on plays, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat by Seminole High School's thespians.

Tonight, three more schools will show off their talents, including Riverview High School with its presentation of Big River.

The four-day festival ends Saturday.

"We all really love it," said Jody Ellenby, a 16-year-old from Miami Palmetto.

"That's why there's so much drama."

Performances are open to the public, with one-day passes offered for $20. Call 813 417-6520 or visit www.flthespian.com for more information.