Nothing Without a Company

LXCL:Enjoy the full performance experience while supporting community access and artist compensation

Community Supporter Admission

LXCL:Enjoy the full performance experience

General Admission

LXCL:Reduced-price ticket for students, artists, arts workers, and community members.

Community / Student / Industry Admission

The Trouble With My Hair by Ada Cheng&ldquo;Hair is never just hair, it holds our histories, our rebellions, our identities, our desires to belong, and our declarations of independence. This show is about coming home to oneself and learning to love the person underneath it all.&rdquo; - Ada Cheng About the ProductionThe Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am,&nbsp;is an intimate exploration of gender, sexual identity, and boundary-making through Ada&rsquo;s evolving relationship with her hairstylist and her hair. Blending narrative art and theatrical storytelling, Ada Cheng playfully brings her audience on a journey of self-discovery and self-love through her struggles with hair. From early memories of negotiating belonging to courageous acts of boundary-making in adulthood, Cheng uses her changing hairstyles and haircolors as milestones marking her path toward self-definition. Each cut, color, and conversation becomes a metaphor for reclaiming voice and visibility in a world eager to define her first. This site-responsive Chicago presentation spans five performances across the city, each featuring guest performers and a post-show conversation or response. Performances (5 total)Each performance runs approximately 2 hours and includes guest artists and a post-show discussion or response.<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Friday, Aug 21 | 7:30&ndash;9:30pm Scissor &amp; Fork 3968 N Elston Ave, Irving Park</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Saturday, Aug 22 | 7:30&ndash;9:30pm Visceral Adventure Lounge 3638 W Grand Ave, Humboldt Park</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Sunday, Aug 23 | 7:30&ndash;9:30pm REM Salon 3035 W Fullerton Ave, Logan Square</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Saturday, Aug 29 | 7:30&ndash;9:30pm Haibay&ocirc; 1132 W Argyle St, Uptown</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Sunday, Aug 30 | 1:00&ndash;3:30pm Center on Halsted 3656 N Halsted St, Northalsted Featuring a performance response by Stir Friday Night, followed by a closing reception until 3:30pm. This final performance will not include a post-show talkback.</li></ul> Guest Artists&nbsp;Each performance will feature guest artists, with a different lineup at every venue.&nbsp; Ginger &amp; Larry Leopoldo: Crazy on the Inside is a two-voice Storyaoke love letter tracing how care, migration, memory, and theater bind two generations of Filipino American stories. Set before a communal singing of Patsy Cline&rsquo;s &ldquo;Crazy,&rdquo; the piece asks what it means to cross oceans, keep promises, and find a heartbeat strong enough to carry us home. Ginger Leopoldo is an artist, educator, teaching artist, cultural producer, and disability justice advocate whose lifelong artistic practice bridges cultures, narratives, intersections, and generations. She holds a Master&#39;s degree in Theatre from the University of Illinois Chicago and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership through an integrated arts approach. A recipient of the 2026 DCASE Individual Artists Program grant and the 2024 DCASE Neighborhood Access Program grant, Ginger is a founding member and Executive Director of CIRCA Pintig, now celebrating its 35th anniversary season. Rooted in theater since adolescence, Ginger&#39;s artistry thrives both onstage and offstage, where she uses the arts as a catalyst for belonging, healing, civic engagement, and community power. Recent artistic work includes a lead role in Bear Cat Productions&#39; Queer Up the Details, a Chicago 48-Hour Film Project production, and serving as Co-Producer of Pink Ribbon Plays, a 24-Hour PlayFest presented in partnership with Nothing Without a Company (NWaC) and the Asian Health Coalition. She previously appeared in Daryo&#39;s All-American Diner, recognized as Best New Play in 2023, and received support from Illinois Humanities for The Art of Belonging, a community-centered storytelling initiative. Through arts leadership, instructional design, youth development, and community-based cultural programming, Ginger advances creative practices that expand access, amplify underrepresented voices, and strengthen connections across communities. Her work reflects a deep commitment to empowering individuals through collaborative artistic experiences at the local, national, and global levels. Lawrence &ldquo;Larry&rdquo; Leopoldo is a Chicago-based performer, writer, visual artist, chef, and community arts organizer. He is a founding member of CIRCA Pintig, where he has spent more than 35 years helping develop, produce, and perform works centered on Filipino and Filipino American experiences. Larry also works with the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago and the Rizal Center on arts, cultural, archival, and community-development projects. As a visual artist, he is known for his work in Kut-Kut, a contemporary approach inspired by traditional Filipino layered-art techniques. He is also the author of The Mysteries of the V.E.R.M., which he is currently developing for television. In Ada Cheng&rsquo;s The Trouble With My Hair, Larry shares &ldquo;Crazy on the Inside,&rdquo; a personal story about his parents&mdash;two Filipino nurses whose love story began at a psychiatric hospital near Manila. Ursa Miles:&nbsp;A rapunzel story with a contemporary twist.&nbsp;Description:&nbsp;Rapunzel gets the rescue she always dreamed of, but life after rescue is nothing like the books she&#39;s read trapped in her tower. She doesn&#39;t know how to fall in love with the prince who rescued her. She&#39;s not sure what love is at all. All she knows is that her hair saved her once, and it can do it again. Ursa Miles&nbsp;is a professional storyteller originally from the Ozarks now based out of Chicago. She delights in blending traditional oral styles with new contemporary storytelling structures. She has recently appeared at Stone Soup Storytelling Festival and St. Louis Storytelling Festival and serves on the boards of Fox Valley Folklore Society and Illinois Storytelling Inc. Community Partner<a fr-original-style="" href="https://scissorandfork.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Scissor &amp; Fork</a> was created to do things differently. Built by and for artists, this is a caf&eacute; and salon rooted in ethical labor, collective care, and community gathering. We reject burnout culture and extractive systems and instead choose intention, sustainability, and respect. This space exists because we believe a better way is not only possible but necessary.&nbsp; History of&nbsp;The Trouble With My Hair:&nbsp;Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I AmThe performance is developed with and directed by <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.soaringsolostudios.com/bio/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Jessica Lynn Johnson</a>, an award-winning director and solo show development expert known for shaping compelling, authentic solo works. &ldquo;Ada is a brilliant and gifted storyteller. Gentle, perfectly paced and warmly welcoming in her sweetly sarcastic way. The writing is magical. Evocative, sensual and human.&rdquo; -<a fr-original-style="" href="https://nohoartsdistrict.com/author/samantha-simmonds/" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros</a> of NoHo Arts District. Ada has performed The Trouble With My Hair&nbsp;nation-wide, including the Asheville Fringe Art Festival, was an official selection of the Soaring Solo Studios Stars Series&nbsp;2025, and she continues to have more shows throughout the year in and out of the country. Writer + Performer BioDr. Ada Cheng is an award-winning storyteller, solo performer, and producer. Committed to amplifying and uplifting marginalized voices, she has created numerous storytelling platforms for BIPOC and LGBTQIA community members to tell difficult and vulnerable stories. She has consistently engaged in public education and public outreach through the use of storytelling and performance arts. Since 2016, she has toured her solo performances Not Quite and Loving Across Borders nationwide, presenting at universities, theaters, and conferences. She premiered her third solo performance, The Trouble with My Hair, in Los Angeles in October 2025 as part of Soaring Solo Studios&rsquo; Stars Series. She has been a speaker with the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau since 2019. Dr. Cheng was named the 2023&ndash;24 Lund-Gill Endowed Chair at Dominican University and was a recipient of the 2024 Public Humanities Award from Illinois Humanities.&nbsp; Discussion Moderator BioKevin Sparrow (they/them) is a Chicago-based playwright, performer, dramaturg, and the Literary Manager for NWAC. They premiered the pop-punk musical Sofa King Queer in 2024 and the self-help satire Cornerstone in 2018. As Literary Manager, Kevin was dramaturg for the productions Down the Moonlit Path and ThroatPunch, and they produced the 2018 and 2019 editions of the New World Play Festival, which showcased 16 new short plays from local and national playwrights. PoliciesCommunity / Student / Industry Tickets: To help make this performance accessible while ensuring artists are fairly compensated, a limited number of Community / Student / Industry tickets are available for each performance. Pay What You Can Tickets: Five Pay What You Can tickets will be available at the door for each performance on a first-come, first-served basis. Availability is limited, so advance ticket purchase is recommended. Refunds &amp; Exchanges Policy: All ticket sales are final. We are not able to offer refunds. If you are unable to attend, we appreciate your understanding that your ticket purchase directly supports the artists and production.Exchanges may be requested up to one week prior to the scheduled performance, subject to availability. Within one week of the event date, we are unable to accommodate exchanges.

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style="" style="color: rgb(42, 42, 196); overflow-wrap: anywhere; user-select: none; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255); border-radius: 4px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 8px; font-size: 11px; display: inline-block; box-sizing: inherit;">First name, <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Thank you for purchasing your ticket to The Trouble With My Hair by Ada Cheng! <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">We&#39;re so excited to welcome you to the opening performance of this site-responsive Chicago presentation.&nbsp;<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Featured Performer: Ada Cheng<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Guest Artists: Ginger and Larry Leopoldo, and Ursa Miles <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Performance Details<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Friday, August 21<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">7:30&ndash;9:30pm<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Scissor &amp; Fork<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">3968 N Elston Ave<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Chicago, IL 60618 <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Check-In<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">There&#39;s no need to print your ticket or show a screenshot. When you arrive, simply provide the name of the ticket purchaser at the check-in table, and we&#39;ll get you checked in. <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Doors open 30 minutes before the performance. We encourage you to arrive early to get settled before the show begins. <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">About the Experience<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">This performance takes place in a unique community venue rather than a traditional theater. Seating is general admission and arranged specifically for this performance. We hope you&#39;ll enjoy experiencing the work in a space that is part of the storytelling. <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Ticket Policy<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;"> <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">All ticket sales are final. We are unable to offer refunds. If you are unable to attend, your ticket purchase will be considered a donation in support of the artists and production. <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">If your plans change, exchanges may be requested up to one week prior to your scheduled performance and are subject to availability. We are unable to accommodate exchanges within one week of the event date. <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">If you have any questions before the performance, please don&#39;t hesitate to reach out. We look forward to sharing this special evening with you! <span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Warmly,<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">Hannah Ii-Epstein<span fr-original-style="font-size:11pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; color:#000000; background-color:transparent;" style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit;">boxoffice@nothingwithoutacompany.org

The Trouble With My Hair by Ada Cheng“Hair is never just hair, it holds our histories, our rebellions, our identities, our desires to belong, and our declarations of independence. This show is about coming home to oneself and learning to love the person underneath it all.” - Ada Cheng About the ProductionThe Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am, is an intimate exploration of gender, sexual identity, and boundary-making through Ada’s evolving relationship with her hairstylist and her hair. Blending narrative art and theatrical storytelling, Ada Cheng playfully brings her audience on a journey of self-discovery and self-love through her struggles with hair. From early memories of negotiating belonging to courageous acts of boundary-making in adulthood, Cheng uses her changing hairstyles and haircolors as milestones marking her path toward self-definition. Each cut, color, and conversation becomes a metaphor for reclaiming voice and visibility in a world eager to define her first. This site-responsive Chicago presentation spans five performances across the city, each featuring guest performers and a post-show conversation or response. Performances (5 total)Each performance runs approximately 2 hours and includes guest artists and a post-show discussion or response.<ul><li>Friday, Aug 21 | 7:30–9:30pm Scissor &amp; Fork 3968 N Elston Ave, Irving Park</li><li>Saturday, Aug 22 | 7:30–9:30pm Visceral Adventure Lounge 3638 W Grand Ave, Humboldt Park</li><li>Sunday, Aug 23 | 7:30–9:30pm REM Salon 3035 W Fullerton Ave, Logan Square</li><li>Saturday, Aug 29 | 7:30–9:30pm Haibayô 1132 W Argyle St, Uptown</li><li>Sunday, Aug 30 | 1:00–3:30pm Center on Halsted 3656 N Halsted St, Northalsted Featuring a performance response by Stir Friday Night, followed by a closing reception until 3:30pm. This final performance will not include a post-show talkback.</li></ul> Guest Artists Each performance will feature guest artists, with a different lineup at every venue.  Ginger &amp; Larry Leopoldo: Crazy on the Inside is a two-voice Storyaoke love letter tracing how care, migration, memory, and theater bind two generations of Filipino American stories. Set before a communal singing of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” the piece asks what it means to cross oceans, keep promises, and find a heartbeat strong enough to carry us home. Ginger Leopoldo is an artist, educator, teaching artist, cultural producer, and disability justice advocate whose lifelong artistic practice bridges cultures, narratives, intersections, and generations. She holds a Master's degree in Theatre from the University of Illinois Chicago and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership through an integrated arts approach. A recipient of the 2026 DCASE Individual Artists Program grant and the 2024 DCASE Neighborhood Access Program grant, Ginger is a founding member and Executive Director of CIRCA Pintig, now celebrating its 35th anniversary season. Rooted in theater since adolescence, Ginger's artistry thrives both onstage and offstage, where she uses the arts as a catalyst for belonging, healing, civic engagement, and community power. Recent artistic work includes a lead role in Bear Cat Productions' Queer Up the Details, a Chicago 48-Hour Film Project production, and serving as Co-Producer of Pink Ribbon Plays, a 24-Hour PlayFest presented in partnership with Nothing Without a Company (NWaC) and the Asian Health Coalition. She previously appeared in Daryo's All-American Diner, recognized as Best New Play in 2023, and received support from Illinois Humanities for The Art of Belonging, a community-centered storytelling initiative. Through arts leadership, instructional design, youth development, and community-based cultural programming, Ginger advances creative practices that expand access, amplify underrepresented voices, and strengthen connections across communities. Her work reflects a deep commitment to empowering individuals through collaborative artistic experiences at the local, national, and global levels. Lawrence “Larry” Leopoldo is a Chicago-based performer, writer, visual artist, chef, and community arts organizer. He is a founding member of CIRCA Pintig, where he has spent more than 35 years helping develop, produce, and perform works centered on Filipino and Filipino American experiences. Larry also works with the Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago and the Rizal Center on arts, cultural, archival, and community-development projects. As a visual artist, he is known for his work in Kut-Kut, a contemporary approach inspired by traditional Filipino layered-art techniques. He is also the author of The Mysteries of the V.E.R.M., which he is currently developing for television. In Ada Cheng’s The Trouble With My Hair, Larry shares “Crazy on the Inside,” a personal story about his parents—two Filipino nurses whose love story began at a psychiatric hospital near Manila. Ursa Miles: A rapunzel story with a contemporary twist. Description: Rapunzel gets the rescue she always dreamed of, but life after rescue is nothing like the books she's read trapped in her tower. She doesn't know how to fall in love with the prince who rescued her. She's not sure what love is at all. All she knows is that her hair saved her once, and it can do it again. Ursa Miles is a professional storyteller originally from the Ozarks now based out of Chicago. She delights in blending traditional oral styles with new contemporary storytelling structures. She has recently appeared at Stone Soup Storytelling Festival and St. Louis Storytelling Festival and serves on the boards of Fox Valley Folklore Society and Illinois Storytelling Inc. Community Partner<a href="https://scissorandfork.com/" target="_blank">Scissor &amp; Fork</a> was created to do things differently. Built by and for artists, this is a café and salon rooted in ethical labor, collective care, and community gathering. We reject burnout culture and extractive systems and instead choose intention, sustainability, and respect. This space exists because we believe a better way is not only possible but necessary.  History of The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I AmThe performance is developed with and directed by <a href="https://www.soaringsolostudios.com/bio/" target="_blank">Jessica Lynn Johnson</a>, an award-winning director and solo show development expert known for shaping compelling, authentic solo works. “Ada is a brilliant and gifted storyteller. Gentle, perfectly paced and warmly welcoming in her sweetly sarcastic way. The writing is magical. Evocative, sensual and human.” -<a href="https://nohoartsdistrict.com/author/samantha-simmonds/" target="_blank">Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros</a> of NoHo Arts District. Ada has performed The Trouble With My Hair nation-wide, including the Asheville Fringe Art Festival, was an official selection of the Soaring Solo Studios Stars Series 2025, and she continues to have more shows throughout the year in and out of the country. Writer + Performer BioDr. Ada Cheng is an award-winning storyteller, solo performer, and producer. Committed to amplifying and uplifting marginalized voices, she has created numerous storytelling platforms for BIPOC and LGBTQIA community members to tell difficult and vulnerable stories. She has consistently engaged in public education and public outreach through the use of storytelling and performance arts. Since 2016, she has toured her solo performances Not Quite and Loving Across Borders nationwide, presenting at universities, theaters, and conferences. She premiered her third solo performance, The Trouble with My Hair, in Los Angeles in October 2025 as part of Soaring Solo Studios’ Stars Series. She has been a speaker with the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau since 2019. Dr. Cheng was named the 2023–24 Lund-Gill Endowed Chair at Dominican University and was a recipient of the 2024 Public Humanities Award from Illinois Humanities.  Discussion Moderator BioKevin Sparrow (they/them) is a Chicago-based playwright, performer, dramaturg, and the Literary Manager for NWAC. They premiered the pop-punk musical Sofa King Queer in 2024 and the self-help satire Cornerstone in 2018. As Literary Manager, Kevin was dramaturg for the productions Down the Moonlit Path and ThroatPunch, and they produced the 2018 and 2019 editions of the New World Play Festival, which showcased 16 new short plays from local and national playwrights. PoliciesCommunity / Student / Industry Tickets: To help make this performance accessible while ensuring artists are fairly compensated, a limited number of Community / Student / Industry tickets are available for each performance. Pay What You Can Tickets: Five Pay What You Can tickets will be available at the door for each performance on a first-come, first-served basis. Availability is limited, so advance ticket purchase is recommended. Refunds &amp; Exchanges Policy: All ticket sales are final. We are not able to offer refunds. If you are unable to attend, we appreciate your understanding that your ticket purchase directly supports the artists and production.Exchanges may be requested up to one week prior to the scheduled performance, subject to availability. Within one week of the event date, we are unable to accommodate exchanges.

Nothing Without a Company

Scissor & Fork — The Trouble With My Hair (Fri, Aug 21)

3968 N Elston Ave

Community Supporter Admission

$50

General Admission

$20

Community / Student / Industry Admission

$15

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