Triple threats, heads up.

As the mercury soars in the Florida summer, the Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa heats up young people's careers. For three weeks in July, pre-professional apprentices, students ranging in age from their late teens to mid-20s, gather on the campus of the University of South Florida to push their skills to the highest degree. The focus of the program: versatility. If you dream of becoming a triple threat, this is the place to be.

"Our students come from all over the country and are the proverbial sponges," says Debra McWaters, who co-founded the project in 1991 alongside Broadway luminary Ann Reinking. "We give them what's crucial for musical theater."

Apprentices are accepted to the program during the national audition tour. And whatever their forte, at BTP, they learn from experts in dancing, singing, and acting.

Dynamic sessions start at 8:30 in the morning and end at 10 in the evening, seven days a week. The day can include dance curriculum in jazz, show and rhythm tap, and choreography, plus private coaching in voice and acting techniques, specialty training in stage combat, Broadway repertory, and auditioning. Classes culminate in an end-of-project show that's popular with the local theatergoing audience.

For these students, fully fleshed-out performances are the goal. As McWaters points out, recalling the brightest guiding light for many connected to the program, "Here's one thing Bob Fosse was adamant about: Make dancers actors. The days of having beautiful technique, but a flat face, is over."

The difficulty of presenting a well-rounded interpretation takes apprentices into challenging territory. "I've never had such a rigorous program," admits Claire Hancock, who holds a BFA in dance from the University of Arizona, "but I have found confidence in areas where I was uncomfortable. Getting in front of peers, I faced my fears."

As a dancer in San Francisco, Hancock sustained an injury that left her searching for new options. The BTP experience allowed her to broaden her range.

During his first stint at the project, having just graduated from Miami's New World School of the Arts, Michael Scirrotto held back in class. "I felt a little intimidated," he confesses, pointing to the drive and quality of participants. But his second time around, something clicked. "I told myself, 'Act like a professional.' People saw what was in me."

He ended up getting a lead in the end-of-term show, with the blessings of faculty member Ben Vereen. "Working with him, how cool is that!" Scirrotto says. "It's neat when you get past the names and see them as great teachers."

Hancock, too, appreciated the industry VIPs on board. "Because of the career they've had, I felt inspired," she says. "The information they give about current theater is invaluable. You'd have to travel all over the country to get that. They can clue you in to how to audition, what directors are looking for, what to avoid in your career."

Vereen, a Tony Award-winning triple-threat, reveals what keeps artists like him returning to teach. "Every year I'm blown away by the students' enthusiasm," he says. "It's a reciprocal energy."

Ryan Kasprzak, a former student-turned-teacher whose specialty is clowning and vaudeville, has become a favorite among BTP offerings. "Physical comedy is great for dancers," he points out, adding that the program is growing. "Every year, it seems the bottom level keeps coming up. These kids are in it to win it," he says. "There's a whole community of us now working in New York. We see each other in auditions or at a gig. And," he laughs, "it's very cool to feel like you have a BTP club card."

Although the connections you make at BTP may help you land your next gig, Vereen emphasizes how the program's most important lessons remain ethical--to be honest about the work, about yourself: "This is a way of life."

Guillermo Perez is a frequent contributor to DM.