SW Florida? I suppose it depends if you're on the panhandle, or if, by Southwest Florida you mean the gulf coast thereof.

Panhandle, you can make it in five hours (if you're like me and my sister). Gulf coast... probably shouldn't even attempt the trip.

But if you want to come, that would be awesome, and if you had the banner, and threw roses, that would be awesome too. No one has ever done that for me before, so it'd be a fun thing.

Anyway, I've found that the easiest way to get into acting is to find a local community theatre and find out when auditions are, and then go audition. Find as many as you can (there are four or five in my area), and audition at as many of them as you can. Once you get cast at one, you'll find it's easier to get recast at the same theatre, which is a trap you must not fall in to. Getting recast at the same theatre over and over affords you nothing, and people start thinking bad things about that theatre (oh, they only cast certain people, cause they play favorites). So audition for as many shows as you can (as long as they don't conflict with each other- most theatres ask for conflicts, anyway, and if you have too many they won't cast you).

So, hope that helps. If you can make it, cool.

-Rifty