What is the Audio & Performance Lab?
The Audio & Performance Lab (APL) is a 3-month long exploratory program in which a cohort of sound-based artists from an expansive spectrum of disciplines collaboratively develops an original collection of audio-first performance pieces to be experienced together with a live audience.
Expanding beyond the confines of your headphones, the APL boldly engages community in shared physical space, charged with generative new vibrations.
We’re inviting 12 artists, whose practice might be rooted in sound design, oral history, music, audio documentary, field recording, live performance, experimental spatial audio, theater, improv, or a whole host of other live-performance and aural traditions, to work together through the conception, production, and staging of a slate of sound-focused pieces that will live together in one show.
From September through December, with guidance and inspiration from show Director and lead artist Aaron Edwards, a hands-on technical mentor, visiting artists, and a like-minded group of peers, participants in the APL will hone, rehearse, and ultimately premiere their work for an in-person audience in the Lab’s culminating live performance.
The Audio & Performance Lab is guided by the expertise and immense care of interdisciplinary director Aaron Edwards, who for years produced, directed and co-hosted shows for the inimitable Pop-up Magazine – a touring “live magazine” that brought stories to life on stage with live orchestral accompaniment. His work in audio and performance has appeared at places like BAM, Lincoln Center, Tribeca Festival, and The Brooklyn Public Library.
APL Shape & Structure
Our cohort gathers twice weekly on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons at the UnionDocs headquarters in Ridgewood, Queens. Our goal is to create a collection of 6-8 sound-focused performance pieces to be premiered for a live audience by the end of the program together.
As participants work together on their own time, conceiving, recording, editing, mixing, and staging their pieces, our regular meetings offer direction, structural scaffolding, facilitated feedback, curated sources of inspiration, and a supportive community to help bring these projects into being.
Research Phase & A Shared Source
Through an initial month-long research and ideation period culminating in a comprehensive selection process, the cohort will develop their projects with each piece helmed collaboratively by a team of 3-4 participants taking on distinct creative roles. Each participant will contribute to at least two of the final pieces.
Though expected and encouraged to range widely in approach, each work will stem from a shared primary source material given at the start of the program, designed to bring the works into thematic conversation and provide a common jumping off point for the research process.
Weekly Meetings
During weekly Production Meetings on Wednesday evenings, lead artist Aaron Edwards will bring his own expertise and background in audio-driven performance and directing to offer guidance and feedback around participants’ latest findings, recordings, setbacks, and next steps.
Meanwhile, Sunday sessions will introduce participants to a diverse lineup of artists, each of whom will speak to a unique creative practice in sound or live performance, joining the cohort for free-flowing discussions driven by the group’s curiosity.
You’ll also have the opportunity and be encouraged to join us free-of-cost for our weekly slate of public programs, screenings, and conversations.
Staging the Show
In the program’s final weeks, we move to staging the show under Aaron Edwards’ direction along with advice from an additional mentor who will bring expertise to help workshop the pieces with a host of additional technical tools in mind to enhance the work. Together we will move through a rigorous rehearsal process to refine the work in the space all together.
Finally, in the second week of December, the projects will take the stage for a series of live programs for the public.
The Audio & Performance Lab will offer…
A stellar lineup of 6 Guest Artists from the audio and performance world to offer insight into their practice, regular Research and Production Meetings facilitated by lead artist Aaron Edwards and UNDO staff to offer guidance and support from an experienced second mentor, structured deadlines, a framework to help advance your creative goals, and the chance to build, devise, and debut a collectively produced sound-focused performance for a live audience.
Dates & Deadlines
September 16th – December 16th, 2026
The Audio & Performance Lab
Early April, 2026
Applications Open
May 13th, 2026
11am ET
Information Session
May 17th, 2026
11:59pm ET
Early Deadline (No Application Fee)
June 7th, 2026
11:59pm ET
Final Deadline ($15 Application Fee)
Mid to Late June 2026
Applicant Interviews
Late June — Early July
Applicant Notifications
Program Costs
Program Fee
$2000 ($500 deposit is due upon acceptance; remaining balance will be due at the start of the program)
Scholarship & Crowdfunding
UnionDocs is able to offer a limited amount of funding to support applicants with a demonstrable need for financial assistance. Applicants interested in this possibility should indicate in their application, though it will have no impact on their review.
A private crowdfunding platform at donate.uniondocs.org is also available to accepted applicants, where they can accept tax deductible donations to offset their program fees.
Weekly Program Schedule at UnionDocs
Wednesdays from 6-9pm
Research & Production Meetings
Sundays from 3-5pm
Artist Visits
Residency Option
$2600 for program inclusive housing that includes utilities, air conditioning, heating, internet, laundry, access to screening room, and second floor balcony deck with grill.
The Audio & Performance Lab is split between residents and non-residents. Six resident participants live in the two-floor, newly-renovated residency at 352 Onderdonk Avenue, while non-resident participants set up their housing independently or already live in NYC.
Non-local applicants have priority for the residency option, as we have found that it can be difficult to arrange short-term housing when arriving in NYC from abroad. However, any applicant to the program may choose to be considered for a spot in the residency because they are attracted to the kind of dynamic interaction and inspiration that can come from an intentional living arrangement. Having a place to come back to where roommates share a vision and are involved in an ongoing experience, is something pretty unique.
Participation Requirements
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We estimate the program will require around 10–15 hours each week.
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There will be 2 meetings per week, scheduled on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, with production taking place on your own time.
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Twice throughout the program, participants will gather to present work and receive feedback in a group critique setting.
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The program will culminate in a live performance, held in mid-December.
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Applicants should have a solid grasp on the basic fundamentals of audio recording and editing.
Past Guests
Benjamen Walker
Pejk Malinovski
Kristen Meinzer
Eleanor MacDowell
Sayre Quevedo
N’jeri Eaton
Maggie Taylor
Avery Trufelman
Kaitlin Prest
Andrew Leland
Cher Vincent
Lisa Chow
Ann Heppermann
Nick Van Der Kolk
Kara Oehler
Sharon Mashihi
Jorge Just
Sean Cole
Emmanuele Berry
John DeLore
Axel Kacoutié
Lisa Schonberg
Alison S.M. Kobayashi
Chloe Alexandra Thompson
Martina Castro
Joe Richman
Lu Olkowski
Mira Burt-Wintonick
Andy Chugg
Rikke Houd
Ariana Martinez
Jazmine T. Green
CC Paschal
Carter Conley
Isaac Kestenbaum
Alex Overington
Brittany Luse
Ike Sriskandarajah
Aisha Turner
Chloe Prasinos
Olivia Bradley-Skill
Megan Tan
Sruthi Pinnamaneni
Michelle Macklem
Laura Mayer
Brian Chase
Kia Miakka Natisse
Talia Augustidis
Daniel Kluger
Maureen Towey
Mitra Kaboli
Julia Lowrie Henderson
Eleanor Kagan
Leila Day
Pat Walters
Sarah Geis
Crystal Duhaime
Josie Holtzman
Sean Rameswaram
Diane Wu
Alex Goldman
Adriene Lilly
Mooj Zadie
Jonathan Goldstein
Andy Chugg
Stephanie Kariuki
Carl Nellis
Harry Nelson
Corinne Gilliard Fisher
& many more
Explore some of UnionDocs Audio Related Programming on the UnionDocs Membership
Hear from Past Participants about their projects…
APL Support
Aaron Edwards
LEAD ARTIST / SHOW DIRECTOR
Aaron Edwards is a writer, story editor, and director working across text, stage and narrative audio. He was born and raised in Southside Jamaica, Queens and lives in the Hudson Valley.
He’s produced and directed live storytelling shows at BAM and Lincoln Center with Pop-Up Magazine, edited special projects and longform at The Outline, and made narrative podcasts recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Tribeca Festival. He was a 2023 MacDowell Fellow and a 2026 New York State Council on the Arts grant recipient.
Christopher Allen
FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Christopher Allen is Founder/ Artistic Director of UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art in Brooklyn. The projects he has initiated, including Living Los Sures, Documenting Mythologies, Capitol of Punk and Yellow Arrow, have united hundreds of artists, documentarians and communities. He collaborates on live performances, such as Say Something Bunny! with artist A.S.M. Kobayashi.
Jenny Miller
CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Jenny has worked as a producer/editor/organizer dedicated to community arts programming with a penchant for nonfiction for the past 12 years, working with a variety of cultural and community spaces—big and small— before finding home in the mighty DIY Spirit at UNDO. She brings curiosity, care, and a strong political stake in bolstering local arts communities through collaborative practice, open dialogue and diverse programming to her work here which spans across all threads of programming. She received a B.A. in English + Cinema Studies from Oberlin College with an interdisciplinary approach to her studies which centered documentary arts, artists’ books, pop culture and DIY publishing / exhibition practices.
A.S.M. Kobayashi
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Kobayashi’s collection of found objects inspire her videos, performances, installations and drawings. Her award-winning, multi-disciplinary work has been exhibited internationally at galleries and film festivals. She is University of Toronto graduate, a 2016 Yaddo and MacDowell Colony fellow.
