Out in the spotlight – LGBT community members take on drag personas

StateNews.com – By Ian Johnson

It was Tyler Cooper’s last chance at happiness. When he was 19 years old, Cooper’s aunt bought him a ticket, helped him pack his bags and sent him on a weeklong vacation to Florida. He had dedicated his entire life to being on stage, and after a serious knee injury put his future in jeopardy, Cooper thought everything he had worked for was gone. Years of dancing instructors telling him that he wasn’t good enough made him self-conscious about his body, his personality and his sexuality…