WGSS Performance by Ada Cheng: The Trouble with My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am

The Trouble with My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am The Trouble with My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am, written and performed by storyteller and solo performer Dr. Ada Cheng, is an intimate exploration of her gender, sexual, and racial identities and boundary-making through her evolving relationships with her hair and her stylists. Blending theatrical storytelling and narrative art, Ada Cheng playfully brings the audience on an emotional and thought-provoking journey of self-discovery and self-love. This solo performance is developed with and directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson. Ada Cheng Bio: An award-winning storyteller, solo performer, and producer, Dr. Ada Cheng uses storytelling to illuminate structural inequities, foster critical awareness, and build intimate communities. 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. As a producer committed to amplifying marginalized voices, Dr. Cheng has created numerous storytelling platforms that center BIPOC and queer community members and support the sharing of difficult and vulnerable stories. 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 Domini