Creative Workshops & Networking Events

SOLO LABS are webinars FOR Solo Artists BY Solo Artists. This session focuses on booking residencies as a Solo Artist!

Soaring Solo Studios SOLO LABS are webinars FOR Solo Artists BY Solo Artists. This session focuses on booking residencies as a Solo Artist!

Join accomplished solo artist Ada Cheng for a 90 minute online deep dive into booking artist residencies all around the world!

About this Solo Lab:

Are you curious about artist residencies of all kinds, whether it is for visual artists, writers, playwrights, musicians or interdisciplinary in nature? Are you interested in having time away from obligations and responsibilities to focus on your art work? Do you enjoy experiencing the unknown and let the unfamiliar inspire your writing and performances? Do you want to immerse yourself in an environment where you feel free to explore and experiment without resorting to the shortcut for creating and producing? Do you want to explore art scenes and cultures in cities beyond your own? Are you fascinated by building cross-border relationships and connections with artists who build communities locally? There is no one reason to apply for an artist residency. Dr. Ada Cheng will explore the various reasons why artist residencies might be a feasible option. She will share her experiences and insights with artist residencies, both in the United States and abroad.

About the Solo Lab instructor:

An award-winning storyteller, solo performer, and keynote speaker, 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, conferences, and community spaces. She has used both solo performances as keynotes for academic conferences as well as university and community events. 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 is currently touring with her third solo performance The Trouble with My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am, developed with and directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson. Her solo performance has been accepted to the Asheville Fringe Arts Festival, Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, Tampa Fringe Festival, and Vancouver Fringe Festival. It will also be part of the Women’s History Month events for University of Georgia at Athens and UIC. In addition, this solo performance will be part of the Texas Feminist Sociologist Conference in May. 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 Dominican University and was a recipient of the 2024 Public Humanities Award from Illinois Humanities. Her work bridges academia, storytelling and performance, and advocacy.

LAB info and policies:

Tuition for this workshop is just $29 and is non refundable & there is no cancellation for this event. We will be recording this workshop, so if you can not attend LIVE, you will receive the recording later to view.