TONY LEWIS
27, THEATER MASTERMIND
Tony Lewis was born in Louisville, Ky., to Bill and Mary Anne Lewis and has one older sister, Tricia. From messy finger-paints and notebook doodles to angsty poetry, art has been a driving force for Lewis since his early years. Growing up, his cousins were his cast in yearly holiday productions ( sometimes against their will ) . What started as little pageants grew as Tony did. Quality of scripts, sets and costumes were not lost on these shabby basement productions, and his family was always anticipating their little thespian's passion. His family has always been a huge influence on his life as an artist and gay man. He performed throughout high school, and when the time came for higher education, he wanted to continue to follow this driving passion in his life.
Lewis attended the Theatre Conservatory at Roosevelt University. During those four years of theater and life training, he grew as an artist and man. When graduation came, an idea began to formulate in his mind. He began to work on an adaptation of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Gender changes, addition of an anti-gay marriage decree and alteration of Shakespeare's fairy-filled forest to a vagrant-filled 'Boyshood' provided Tony a voice and message for the gay community. His youthful optimism told him he better get it produced with haste before gay marriage was legalized, so he and fellow Roosevelt alumni formed the theater company MidTangent Productions. For the past three years ( currently in rehearsals for the fourth ) MidTangent Productions has brought A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Queer Tale to the stage, along with other productions like Fascination, I Am Hamlet and @mosphere 54. With the support of over a hundred artists, designers and supporters, this dream was made a reality.
DID YOU KNOW? In addition to theater, Lewis is also a singer, choreographer, fiction writer and professional event planner.
AMY GREGORY
28, REGISTERED NURSE
Amy Gregory, 28, currently works to care for members of the LGBT community by providing world class medical care as part of the team of Howard Brown Health Center's John S. Baran Center for Medical Services. In this capacity, she provides expert and compassionate care for those living with HIV/AIDS and to all LGBT persons seeking comprehensive medical care at Howard Brown.
She graduated from the Depaul University College of Nursing in 2006, and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, The National Honor Society of Nursing. Gregory is currently fulfilling requirements for the Family Nurse Practitioner program at DePaul University, and is set to graduate in June 2009. She hopes to continue her work in LGBT health field, especially women's and lesbian's health, STDs and HIV/AIDS.
DID YOU KNOW? Her 'root' was when she developed a crush on Dottie Henson in the movie A League of Their Own when she was 12.
SPECIAL AWARDS
RONNIE KROELL
25, MODEL AND 4+1 PRODUCTIONS FOUNDER
Ronnie Kroell, 25, is a political science major at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to his passion for politics, he has a deep love for the arts. He has pursued acting and modeling for many years, and celebrated his most recent success as runner-up on BRAVO's 'Make Me a Supermodel.'
Kroell is a man with strong convictions, and has never allowed obstacles to stand in his way. Rather, he chooses to focus on the glass being half full and greeting every challenge with a smile. Most importantly, as a man that happens to be gay, he does not allow his 'personal orientation' to solely define his life's journey or how he interacts with individuals from all walks of life.
As founder of 4+1 Productions, he is a proponent of 'bridging diversity through the arts,' and is an advocate for opening lines of communication and inspiring others to just be themselves. Kroell is currently working on finishing his degree, writing a book and living each day to the fullest. He is thankful to his family, friends and to the community for their support of his efforts and hopes that they will continue to watch what happens.
DID YOU KNOW? While he considers himself to be an ordinary guy, he also acknowledges that he has extraordinary dreams and believes that anything is possible ( including his dream of being President of the U.S. ) .
STEPHEN ROSENGARD
30, FASHION DESIGNER
Born and raised in Chicago, 30-year-old Steven Rosengard was hooked on design as early as age 11, when he realized the people he loved to sketch 'needed clothes.' The greats of Hollywood's Golden Age—Katherine Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Doris Day and Lauren Bacall—they were the inspiration for Rosengard, and by the age of 14, he was researching fashion history and making his first dresses.
The youngest of four children, Steven spent his free time drawing figures, designing gowns and exploring fabric. His path to fashion led him to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying Dutch, but he ended up at Chicago's Columbia College for fashion design. He traveled abroad, where fashion and fabric continued to captivate him in places such as France, England and Italy. Today, he creates effortless, dramatic and elegant day and evening looks, tailored for real women who have to look good while going through their daily lives.
Rosengard's passion and unique curiosity for all things fashionable have made him a rising star in Chicago's design community. His focus, with direct inspiration from Yves St. Laurent, centers on natural fabrics that bring a simple, yet elegant, perspective to women's day wear. He hopes to rid the fashion world of non-natural fabric and take day dresses to a level every woman would covet.
DID YOU KNOW? Rosengard eats ice cream with milk poured all over it ( like how you eat cereal ) . He was also the only Project Runway contestant that understood what Heidi was saying when she would be ranting in Dutch.
