SHOW SENDS ANTIDRUG MESSAGE TO KIDS

TAMPA - Against a watercolor backdrop of a big-city skyline, the
youngsters sing about the crisis of cocaine and the havoc wreaked by
heroin. They rap about tobacco. Elaborate on alcohol.

And they set it all to music and dance with a rhythmic righteousness,
where from one kid's mouth to another kid's ear, it sounds a little
more familiar. And seems a lot easier to swallow.

``That's it, you know, that's why I do it. If I could stop a little
kid from trying something, prevent peer pressure ... hey, that's
cool,'' said Alex Coss, 13 . ``We try to give them tips. And the first
thing I'd say about drugs or smoking? Don't do it.''

Coss is one of 10 student performers in Dreamers Against Drugs, an
annual summer program coordinated by thef Tampa Recreation Department.
.Today, it begins a monthlong tour of schools, recreation centers,
Boys & Girls Clubs and city facilities, including the Florida Aquarium
and the Museum of Science and Industry.

For more than 10 years, the volunteer casts of Dreamers Against Drugs
have spread the antidrug message in a script written by and for
Hillsborough County students. Their aim is to influence kids just a
little bit younger than themselves - cast members are 10 to 16 and
audiences are mostly kindergarten through fifth grade.

David Jankiewicz, who has helped design and direct the show since
1989, said that when the information is delivered by people ``the same
age, the same height, even the same weight,'' it resonates mightily -
and mighty differently from ``being bombarded by just another adult.''

The first production was part of former Mayor Sandy Freedman's
Operation SAFE Street initiative. The 1999 production was put together
in three weeks on a budget of about $25,000 and in cludes
participation from groups such as the Mendez Foundation, a nonprofit
organization devoted to drug awareness.

The production showcases some remarkable talent, too. Indeed,
choreographer Eric Stillings was thrilled with Monday's result.

``In 10 years, these kids still teach me so much,'' he
gushed.

But is peer pressure really a fundamental path to drug use? The
question got nods all around Monday, with one young woman explaining
how many kids smoke because ``they see somebody and try to be cool. A
lot of the girls do it to lose weight,'' said Angelica Johnson.

``I would never do drugs, I just wasn't brought up that way,'' added
12-year-old Charity Williams. ``But peer pressure? Well, when I was
about 4 or 5, my sister got me to do a flip on the swing set and I
broke my collarbone. So, yes, you bet there's peer pressure.''