Nothing Without a Company

Nothing Without a Company Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Nothing Without a Company, Performance Art Theatre, 1517 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL.
(1)

Nothing Without a Company tell's the stories of historically marginalized voices through immersive and site-specific theatre, especially supports LGBTQIA+, Women, Trans and Gender Non-Binary/GNC folks, BIPOC & AANHPI folks by providing a safe space. Nothing Without a Company is planting theatre around Chicago to empower self and community through immersive and revolutionary acts of art in site-specific and reclaimed environments.

📣 Introducing more of our team working the SOLD OUT run of The Trouble With my Hair. Help us give them some love! 📣🌈 Kev...
08/27/2026

📣 Introducing more of our team working the SOLD OUT run of The Trouble With my Hair. Help us give them some love! 📣

🌈 Kevin Sparrow (they/them) is a writer, performer, and curator of live and time-based work. Their 2000s-era pop-punk musical, Sofa King Q***r, premiered in November 2024 with Nothing Without a Company. In January 2021, they presented the immersive, interactive “The Kingdom of Slovenalia: Virtual Tour”, following a live work-in-progress production at Chicago’s Rhinofest in February 2020. Kevin is Literary Manager for Nothing Without a Company, where their credits include: Cornerstone (April 2018; Playwright); New World Play Festival (October 2018; Producer and Playwright, “D.P.N.B.”); 4Plays New Play Festival (2017; Playwright, “Shotgun Preemie”); [Trans]formation (2016; Co-Deviser and Performer); and Dramaturg for ThroatPunch (2018) and Down the Moonlit Path (2015). Kevi Sparrow

🎬 Sandeep Pamulapati holds an MFA in Documentary Media from Northwestern University. He is a co-founder of Rishi Productions, a Chicago-based production company working across corporate content, music videos, and documentaries. Sandeep has collaborated with BearCat Productions and Nothing Without a Company (NWaC) on multiple productions and serves on NWaC’s Board of Directors. As an editor, Sandeep believes in the power of “1+1 = 3,” the idea that when every shot has intention and purpose, the final story becomes greater than the sum of its parts. His work includes contributing to a Telly Award-winning documentary on house music, reflecting his passion for rhythm, culture, and authentic storytelling. Sandeep brings a thoughtful editorial eye to every production and is a proud LGBTQ+ ally. Sandeep

🎉 Angle Torres: I’m an audio engineer and an electronics enthusiast. I’ve been working with local bands in the Chicago area for 20 years. Within that time, I’ve also worked with a few theater companies as an audio, video, stage, and lighting tech off and on. Angel Torres

💰This show is made possible by a Crossroads Fund - we love them!

More bio’s above ⬆️ and below ⬇️

***rchicago

🍕FREE PIZZA LOBO TOMORROW at Visceral Adventure Lounge (3638 West Grand Avenue)🍕📣” Developed by Dan Snowden—the former e...
08/21/2026

🍕FREE PIZZA LOBO TOMORROW at Visceral Adventure Lounge (3638 West Grand Avenue)🍕

📣” Developed by Dan Snowden—the former executive chef of Bad Hunter—and Heisler Hospitality’s Matt Eisler and Kevin Heisner, LOBO features grab-and-go ‘za and a lengthy bar menu plus a 4,000-square-foot patio. The trio honed the concept for Pizza Lobo over the course of several years in the kitchen of Bad Hunter’s sister bar, Lone Wolf, playing with different ideas revolving around a classic New York-style crust. Now, the stand-alone concept is taking on an identity of its own, thanks to a roster of top-notch pies garnished with everything from grapes and broccoli rabe to hot honey and ‘nduja.” - Time Out Chicago

🔊 FREE PIZZA tomorrow ONLY (First come, do first served - while supples of pizza lasts)

⬇️ Guest artists at Visceral Adventure Lounge at THE TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by Cheng

🌀 Kin Ribeiro
💌 Ivy McPherson: 📸 ivy mcpherson
✍🏾 Darsh*ta Jain: 📸 Darsh*ta Jain

⭐️See all you folks soon who are coming tonight to the show at Scissor & Fork⭐️

⏳Other Info & Tickets at NothingWithoutaCompany.org

🎟️ 5 available (pay-what-you-can tickets) at the door 🎟️

📣 Almost SOLD OUT - Next Sun Aug 30, 1pm - Center on Halsted 📣Tickets still available for this weekend Friday, Saturday ...
08/19/2026

📣 Almost SOLD OUT - Next Sun Aug 30, 1pm - Center on Halsted 📣

Tickets still available for this weekend Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 7:30pm

🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Center on Halsted opening for THE TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by SJ Ada Cheng

⬆️ Bios above & below - ⬇️ 🎱

Jonathan Lee-Rey (he/him) is an actor, writer, and filmmaker from Yonkers, NY with a splash of the Bronx. Currently, he is based in Chicago where he is the Executive Artistic Director of Stir Friday Night, a producer of the Chicago iteration of Kaleidoscope, and the Community Outreach Manager of Stepping Stone Theater. Formerly he was on the iO Harold team Velvet and a member of Generation LatinX. He also made shorts with the iO Network team Free Trial Run and the indie film studio Make it Up Media. He has trained at UCB, iO, Second City, The Magnet and is a graduate of The Harold Ramis Film School and Skidmore College.

Shashwat Arya (he/him) originally from India, is a Chicago-based artist who views the stage as just another canvas. His creativity spans everything from painting and illustration to creating comics—with comedy being the latest (and loudest) tool in his belt. After honing his craft at The Annoyance, he has brought his high-energy physical style to recent shows like Lights, Camera, Bollywood! (The Annoyance) and Tikka Masala (The Den). As a member of Stir Friday Night, Shashwat is excited to prove that sometimes the best way to make a statement is by screaming it on stage.

Kathleen Hansen (she/her) is a writer, artist, and lovable weirdo. She plays with Tippling House at the Home Comedy Theater. Known for her vulnerability and honesty, she wrote and performed darling: an intimate solo show about her truly wild dating experiences. She’s excited to join Stir Friday Night for her first season.

⭐️More bios in comments! ⭐️

⏳Tickets at NothingWithoutaCompany.org

🌈🎟️ 5 available (pay-what-you-can tickets) at the door 🎟️

📣 2 WEEKS - Sun Aug 30, 1pm - Center on Halsted 📣🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Center on Halsted opening for TH...
08/18/2026

📣 2 WEEKS - Sun Aug 30, 1pm - Center on Halsted 📣

🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Center on Halsted opening for THE TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by SJ Ada Cheng

⬆️ Bios above - ⬇️ piece description below 🎱

🎤 Rich Adrian Lazatin: I’m a gay, Filipino poet and a lot of my poetry comes from a very vulnerable place. And for my submission piece in particular, “In This Timeline”, I am writing from a deep sense of rage, the feeling of wanting to pull all my hair out of my head. This poem speaks on the injustice of the ICE raids happening around our country. In terms of the sub-themes, my poetry discusses issues of race and migration within America. I also have other poems that discuss my identity with being q***r, and the inner conflicts I’ve faced with being q***r and Filipino. ➡️ Follow Rich Adrian Lazatin

🌈 Jonathan “J-Star” Mayo: “Privilege Poem” is an existing piece that was originally performed for “Get Loud”, a variety show that uplifted Q***r voices and was produced by Making Art Your Opportunity LLC in collaboration with Redtwist Theatre.
This choreographed poem incorporates the stacking and reconfiguring of bricks as a metaphor to deconstruct the concept of how privilege can be gained and lost throughout one’s lifetime. Touching on the topics of race, gender, belonging and q***rness, this performance reflects the impact that privilege has had on my personal lived experience and on our society as a whole. While hair is not an overt theme within the poem, it is certainly engaged through my gender expression onstage. Unfortunately, the recording is distorted, however, I’ve attached the document of the poem. ➡️ Follow Jonathan Mayo

🎵Amanda Payne: This piece is all about my relationship with my own hair: the physical representation of my parents Black and Filipina union. The (mis)adventures in styling and finally learning how to accept and love my hair, intersecting with the themes of race, gender, migration, and belonging.
➡️ Follow Amanda Payne

⏳Other Info & Tickets at NothingWithoutaCompany.org

🌈🎟️ 5 available (pay-what-you-can tickets) at the door 🎟️🌈

📣 2 WEEKS AWAY - Sat Aug 29, 7:30pm - 🌟HAIBAYÔ🌟 📣🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Haibayo opening for THE TROUBLE...
08/17/2026

📣 2 WEEKS AWAY - Sat Aug 29, 7:30pm - 🌟HAIBAYÔ🌟 📣

🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Haibayo opening for THE TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by Cheng

⬆️ Bios above - ⬇️ piece description below 🎱

🎶 Lynn An: Lynn will be sharing original pieces from her upcoming solo musical - a show following an isolated q***r woman’s reclamation of faith.
➡️ Follow Lynn An

📷 Karen Su: “Hair Snippets” is a collection of narrative snapshots with family photos. Each snippet spotlights a hair story revealing the quotidian dynamics of diasporic identity and belonging, race, gender, and q***rness in my life.
➡️ Follow Karen Su

🎭 About TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by SJ Ada Cheng
The 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.

🪮 “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

⏳Other Info & Tickets at NothingWithoutaCompany.org

🎟️ 5 available (pay-what-you-can tickets) at the door 🎟️

📣 1 WEEK AWAY FROM TONGHT - Sun Aug 23, 7:30pm - 📣🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Rem Salon opening for THE TROU...
08/17/2026

📣 1 WEEK AWAY FROM TONGHT - Sun Aug 23, 7:30pm - 📣

🤓 Read more about the guest artists at Rem Salon opening for THE TROUBLE WITH MY HAIR by Cheng

⬆️ Bios above - ⬇️ piece description below 🎱

🌟 Dawn Heilung: “I would love to perform two pieces that are near and dear to my heart as a born and raised trans Texan who had to migrate to Chicago for safety and legal gender protections. The first piece is an interactive dance and storytelling piece called Debi Never Taught Me to Braid. A part of transitioning to be a woman has including figuring out what the hell to do with my hair and my mom (Debi) barely knows what to do with her own her. In this piece, I braid a 3 foot hair extension on my head as I share transphobic acts I’ve faced in Texas as the audience calls and responds with a hell know underscored to the music “Redneck Woman” By Gretchen Wilson. The piece ends with me singing the chorus of this song and leading willing audience members in a absolute beginner country line dance. The second half of this work is set to a historical Q***r Folk Artist Meg Christian titled “Southern Home”. In the work, Me and 2 other collaborators sing an original 3 part harmony to the song while dancing with some comfy blanket choreography. This song explores the heartbreak of leaving home when there is no other options and the joy of finding home in chosen family and community. Total runtime for both these works would be 7 minutes.”

🏳️‍🌈 Cal Walker: Revenge of The Daddy Issues is solo deconstruction of q***r masculinity. Cal Walker recounts their own experience loving and tolerating masculinity: a verbally abusive father as a child, unrequited high school crushes and questionable boyfriends as a closeted teenager, and q***r love in frightening adulthood. In a coming-of-age survival story, Walker uses humor and audience interaction to explore what it means to “be a man.”

⏳Other Info & Tickets at NothingWithoutaCompany.org

🎟️ 5 available (pay-what-you-can tickets) at the door 🎟️

08/17/2026

What a great show! 🌈 Thanks for having us OUT CHICAGO. 🎥 1 Hour In.

🎤 Great interview today with Scott Duff and Ellen Miller at Heartland Signal WCPT 92.7FM. Thank you for having us fam! 🌈...
08/16/2026

🎤 Great interview today with Scott Duff and Ellen Miller at Heartland Signal WCPT 92.7FM. Thank you for having us fam! 🌈

Learn more about 🎭 “The Trouble With My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am” from Artist SJ Ada Cheng and NWaC Producing Director Anna Rose Ii-Epstein 🎉 in these short clips. 🎥

📣 NOTE 📣 The last weekend of shows are almost sold out! There are limited tickets for each location. Ticket link available at NothingWithoutaCompany.org and linked in bio.
Co And t
🎟️🎟️Fri Aug 21, 7:30pm
Scissor & Fork
3968 N Elston Ave

🎟️🎟️🎟️Sat Aug 22, 7:30pm
Tonika Todorova
3638 W Grand Ave

🎟️🎟️🎟️ Sun Aug 23, 7:30pm
Rem Salon Logan Square
3035 W Fullerton Ave

🎟️Sat Aug 29, 7:30pm
🌟HAIBAYÔ🌟
1132 W Argyle St

🎟️Sunday August 30, 1pm
Center on Halsted
3656 N Halsted St

🎟️ = almost sold out
🎟️🎟️ = filling up fast
🎟️🎟️🎟️ = ticket availability good

⭐️ Synopsis:
The 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.

Read more about the 20+ guest artist including SFN on our website! 🤓

🔊Shout outs to JI YAng Kevi Sparrow Hannah Ii-Epstein Center on Halsted SFN and the 20+ performers performing as guest artist in the next 2 weeks!⭐️

***rcommunity

Address

1517 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago, IL
60614

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Nothing Without a Company posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category