autsadmin | Audio Under the Stars

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A picture of the Carina Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope

A Note to Our Beloved Community

November 30, 2023 / autsadmin / Comments Off

As we wrap up nearly a decade of Audio Under the Stars, we’ve made the tough decision to bring our listening series to an end.

We have spent much of the last year assessing what has changed since 2020 -personally, professionally, and in the larger context of grassroots arts organizing- and we came to the conclusion that this project has reached the limit of its lifespan.

We are so grateful for each of you who has joined us along the way, from the earliest days in the backyard of a tiny art gallery in East Durham, to the groves and garden of the Center for Documentary Studies, to the Great Lawn at Durham Central Park.

We’ve shared so many memorable stories, but what stands out most is the way it felt to experience those together; savoring the highs, sighing over the lows, finding community in the twilight and the ephemeral magic of listening. It has truly been a gift to be able to create this unequaled experience over the years.

Thank you.

A crowd of listeners sits under string lights at the first Audio Under the Stars listening party.

June 21, 2014, Audio Under the Stars debuts at a small art gallery in Durham.

Building

June 21, 2023 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Nine years ago, Audio Under the Stars made its debut in Durham. From that first night to today, we’ve been awed and humbled by your enthusiasm and unwavering support.

We’ve been a little quiet lately, but want to let you know we’ve been busy behind the scenes. After much reflection on the past few years, we realized we needed to step back from live events for a moment and spend 2023 focused on strategic planning.

We’re looking to build relationships with potential funders, audio producing organizations, venues, and local volunteers to make sure AUTS is sustainable in the future. If this is you, (or if you’d like to contribute in another capacity), please reach out to us at audiounderthestars@gmail.com. We are already laying the groundwork for events in 2024 and would love to add more voices to that conversation.

We always treasure audience feedback, so if you have ever taken a moment to dream big AUTS dreams, we’d love to know what you imagine. (And if you’re so inclined, you can make a tax-deductible donation here.

Thank you for sharing your ears, your company, and your hearts all these years. We can’t wait to listen with you again soon.

A paper message wrapped with string in a bottle sealed with a cork lies washed up on shore resting on wet sand. It's been through a lot to get here.

Hope This Finds You Well

September 20, 2022 / autsadmin / Comments Off

For Fall 2022, we welcome you to events in Pittsboro, NC and Durham, NC. The first is the beginning of a long-standing dream to reach out to new communities. The second is a return to our roots. We will have the same programming at each location, so plan to come to the one that works for you.

Since our launch in 2014, Audio Under the Stars has been bringing people together to celebrate audio storytelling. We’ve always sought to highlight the work of independent audio producers, share beloved pieces, honor talent, and build community with listeners and producers alike.

We are so excited to do all this (and, we hope, more) in new places, welcoming new audiences along with old friends.

Hope This Finds You Well: Stories of Taking Care in Tough Times
In our first live show since the pandemic began, we’ll explore stories of resilience and connection. You can expect unexpected companions, reflections on what it means to be well, and a chance to celebrate the odd and wonderful ways we found solace during the pandemic. Along the way we’ll try to navigate the limbo of life online and consider what it might cost to keep a promise to an old friend.

Bring a comfortable chair or something to stretch out on and travel with us to surprising and enlightening places from the comfort of your own picnic blanket.

Chatham County:

6-8pm, Friday, September 23 (rain date Friday, Sept 30)
Join us in the grove around the Honey Locust Gazebo at The Plant , 220 Lorax Lane, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

More info here.

You can find all kinds of food and drinks available at the many local businesses at The Plant (no outside food or drink, please). Well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome.

Durham County:

6-8pm, Friday, October 14, rain or shine!
Join us at Durham Central Park, 501 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701.

If the weather is good, meet us on the Great Lawn, the gorgeous grassy hillside between the Mount Merrill playground and the skate park.

If the weather is wet, we’ll shift to the Pavilion, with optional seating on the grass. Bring your weather gear!

Picnics and well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome at DCP. There are many local businesses in downtown Durham where you can enjoy food and drinks before or after the show. Please note, no alcohol, smoking, or vaping allowed.

Please consider bringing a cash donation, or making a donation online here. Listener support is vital to the future of AUTS.

This project was supported by Duke Arts, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the Southern Documentary Fund, and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

2022 Call for Stories

February 5, 2022 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Audio Under the Stars, North Carolina’s summer-long outdoor audio festival, is looking for pitches and stories for our 2022 season. Launched in 2014, Audio Under the Stars returns for its eighth season in 2022.

The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST) on Monday, February 21, 2022.

What kind of stories are you looking for?

We are looking for true stories that focus on human relationships, with strong characters, a narrative arc, and a clear sense of what’s at stake. We do not accept recordings of live storytelling, interviews or chat-casts, or audio fiction. You can listen to a selection of stories from past shows here.

We are happy to consider story pitches, works in progress, and already produced pieces. You can submit a story based on our 2022 themes or submit to our miscellanea category.

How long?

Stories can run between 4-15 minutes. If you are submitting anything longer than 15 minutes, please tell us how you would edit your piece to fit the time constraints.

Who should submit stories?

Producers should have prior experience with field recording, interviewing, script writing, and audio editing. We are especially interested in working with producers of color and people whose voices are not usually represented in public media.

Is there compensation for producing a story?

All story pitches and stories submitted by producers will be considered for a modest honorarium. In past seasons, the amount we’ve been able to offer producers has ranged from $100-$300, depending on the length of work and availability of grant funding and donations.

What is the timeline for producing a story?

The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST) on Monday, February 21.

If your pitch/work in progress is selected, we will work with you to develop and produce your story during March and April. Your final deadline for completing your story will be at the end of May. If you are submitting a finished story, we may ask for changes in order for your story to be included in the 2022 season. Due to grant reporting and season planning requirements, the production timeline and final deadline are not negotiable. Your story will air in our summer 2022 season, and then you are welcome to pitch it elsewhere.

What’s in it for me?

In addition to a modest honorarium, producers will get one-on-one consulting throughout the editing process this spring. Your story will be shared with our enthusiastic audience (events in the pre-pandemic era drew 400-500 people) and showcased on our Soundcloud page. You’ll also have a completed piece you are welcome to pitch elsewhere once our season ends.

Themes for the 2022 Season of Audio Under the Stars

Hope this Finds You Well

Health, wealth, prosperity: hallmarks of a good life, some would say. But so many of us struggle to chase down even one, let alone all three. What are your favorite stories about the quest for what makes life worthwhile? What it’s like to strive, what it’s like to fail, what it’s like to fight for what you need or even to get what you think you want? What are the stumbling blocks, big or small, that get in the way? We’re looking for thoughtful narrative stories about people’s livelihoods, their wellbeing, and what it means to prosper -or even meander- in these troubled times (along with, y’know, any other era in which humanity has struggled to come to terms with the forces of an indifferent universe.)

Come Together: Stories of Community and Kinship

From the nuclear household to the tales of your ancestors, we’re looking for family stories of all kinds. We want to hear about found families, cherished bonds, dysfunctional dynamics, the moments you treasure and the ones you can’t wait to leave behind. What does it mean to form a family? Or leave one? Beyond the family unit, what brings us and binds us together? How do we make connections, build movements, and sustain communities? How do we bridge the gaps that keep us apart, whether it’s on an individual level or much larger? We’d love to hear pieces that are (pick one or more) funny, poignant, emotional, surprising, character-driven, and prompt us to reflect on who we want to connect with and why.

Miscellanea

If you think you have a great story that doesn’t quite fit, that’s OK! Send it in and tell us why you like it.

Ready to pitch?

Share your story idea, work in progress, or completed piece by answering a few simple questions here: https://bit.ly/AUTS2022 Pitch as many stories as you’d like, no later than midnight (EST) on Monday, February 21.

Questions?

We’d love to help! Email us at audiounderthestars@gmail.com.

Hope for the year ahead

December 27, 2021 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, it’s nearly impossible to know what to expect, but we are choosing to embrace optimism. We’re hoping to be able to offer some kind of outdoor, in-person listening experience in the summer, knowing full well that plans may have to change, adapt, or be abandoned between now and then. Like everything else touched by the pandemic, our future events will not be quite the same as before, but we’ll do our best to let you know what to expect (once we figure it out).

Early in 2021 we began some initial planning for events, but the twists and turns of the year were just too much to contend with. It’s been two years since our last live event and more than a year since our online show. Now that we are tentatively restarting our planning process, it’s clear we need help to make things happen in the coming months.

Can you help us revive Audio Under the Stars in 2022? Your contribution will support independent audio producers and make it possible to bring new stories to new audiences next year. We can’t do it without you.

You can make a tax-deductible donation here. We are grateful for your support.

Plan B: Stories of Life’s Unexpected Twists on Friday, October 9

September 30, 2020 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Audio Under the Stars is proud to present our virtual 2020 show: Plan B: Stories of Life’s Unexpected Twists on Friday, October 9, 2020. The event will take place virtually and pre-registration is required. As always, our shows are free and open to the public. Once you complete the free registration, we will send you a Zoom invitation and password.

Plan B: Stories of Life’s Unexpected Twists
Friday, October 9, 2020
8:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Register here: http://bit.ly/AUTSplanB

The mission of Audio Under the Stars is to create community around audio storytelling. Learn more about Audio Under the Stars here.

This project was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

2020 Season Update

May 3, 2020 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Given all that’s happened since March and all the uncertainty about the coming months, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not feasible to host our regular in-person shows at the Center for Documentary Studies in Durham this summer. We’re setting aside the three themes we planned to feature this year and hope to revisit them next season. Thank you to all who submitted stories- the depth and breadth of your work was truly impressive.

Despite everything, we don’t want the season to pass by without some chance at listening together in community, even if we’re apart. We’re working to figure out options for an online listening event later this year. Check back for updates or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

2020 Call for Stories

February 3, 2020 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Audio Under the Stars, North Carolina’s summer-long outdoor audio festival, is looking for pitches and stories for our 2020 season. Launched in 2014, Audio Under the Stars returns for its seventh season in 2020.

The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST) on Saturday, February 29.

What kind of stories are you looking for?

We are happy to consider story pitches (an idea for a story, not yet produced), works in progress, and already produced pieces. You can submit a story based on our 2020 themes or submit to our miscellanea category. Final stories can run between 4-15 minutes.

Who should submit stories?

Producers should have prior experience with field recording, interviewing, script writing, and audio editing.

We are especially interested in working with producers of color and people whose voices are not usually represented in public media.

Is there funding for producing a story?

Yes. All story pitches and stories submitted by producers will be considered for funding thanks to a grant from the Durham Arts Council.

What is the timeline for producing a story?

The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST) on Saturday, February 29.

If your pitch/work in progress is selected, we will work with you to develop and produce your story during March and April. Your deadline for completing your story will be at the end of May. If you are submitting a finished story, we may ask for changes in order for your story to be included in the 2020 season. Due to grant reporting and season planning requirements, the production timeline and final deadline are not negotiable. Your story will air in our summer 2020 season, and then you are welcome to pitch it elsewhere.

What’s in it for me?

In addition to a modest honorarium, producers will get one-on-one consulting throughout the editing process this spring. We have years of experience in audio editing and we can help bring your story idea to life, or help make your work in progress stronger.

Your story will then be played to our enthusiastic audience (an average event draws 400-500 people) and showcased on our Soundcloud page. This is a unique opportunity to create a work with the Audio Under the Stars team and have your story presented at our one-of-a-kind event series.

You’ll also have a completed piece you are welcome to pitch elsewhere once our season ends.

Themes for the 2020 Season of Audio Under the Stars

Kith and Kin

Fight or Flight: Stories of Resistance and Escape

We’re looking for stories about people getting through tough times: making a stand, taking a punch, overcoming hardship, overthrowing a government. Or the flipside: how to escape, literally or figuratively, including stories about taking a break, dodging a bullet, slipping away, finding refuge or what it means to get free. Stories that deal with sub-themes of air, travel, and/or the animal kingdom also welcome.

Outsiders

Think city dwellers escaping to the wilderness. Displaced wildlife wandering into urban settings. People on the move across the planet, either by choice or circumstance. We’re looking for stories that tackle all aspects of the great outdoors, from animal encounters to environmental advocacy. How do we fit into the natural world? How do we adapt to a planet that’s changing?

Miscellanea

Got a great story or pitch that doesn’t fit the above themes that you think we need to hear? Send it along and we’ll consider it for future AUTS shows.

Ready to pitch?

Share your story idea, work in progress, or produced story by answering a few simple questions here: bit.ly/AUTS2020. Pitch as many stories as you’d like, no later than midnight (EST) on Saturday, February 29.

Questions?

We’d love to help! Email us at audiounderthestars@gmail.com.

About Audio Under the Stars

The mission of Audio Under the Stars is to create community around audio storytelling through producing, curating, and sharing audio stories. Audio Under the Stars is a summer-long audio festival based in Durham, N.C. We collect fascinating stories from all over —with a focus on local flavor—and each month during the summer we invite you to our garden to lean back and listen. Audio Under the Stars features the kind of audio stories you might hear on podcasts or public radio. We bring the listening experience out of your earbuds and into the outdoors, where audience members can share each twist, turn, tragedy or triumph together. Hosted in the garden at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Audio Under the Stars is a one-of-a-kind experience.

Audio Under the Stars is the creation of Jenny March and Elizabeth Friend, made possible with the help of many volunteers. It began as a venue to showcase local audio documentary work, and has grown to include radio-makers from around the world.

2019 Season Dates and Themes

March 11, 2019 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Join us for our 2019 season!

All shows are 8 p.m.-10 p.m. on the lawn at the Center for Documentary Studies, 1317 W Pettigrew St, Durham, NC 27705

Night and Day

The world seems different once the sun goes down. Join us at twilight on the summer solstice for an evening of stories about circadian rhythms, midnight adventures, metaphorical darkness and literal sunlight.

Friday, June 21 (Rain date: July 5)

Super/Natural: Stories of Science and the Unknown

From medicine to mysticism, we share stories that explore the boundaries of what we know about the world around us. Expect tales of weird science, dramatic breakthroughs, the power of belief and the allure of the unknown.

Friday, July 26 (Rain date: August 2)

Appetites and Desires

We explore how our needs, both physical and emotional, bring us together and, at times, pit us against each other. Join us for an evening of delicious stories about food, hunger, ambition, and passion.

Postponed until August 30

This project was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.

This project was also supported by Durham 150, celebrating 150 years of Durham and innovation.

A crowd settles in under string lights to listen.

2019 Call for Stories

February 11, 2019 / autsadmin / Comments Off

Audio Under the Stars, Durham’s summer-long outdoor audio festival, is looking for story pitches and stories for the 2019 season. Submit as many stories as you’d like. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Thursday, February 28.

All story pitches and stories submitted by North Carolina producers will be considered for funding thanks to a grant from the Durham Arts Council. If your pitch is selected, we will work with producers to develop their stories during March and April. The deadline for completing these stories will be at the end of May.

What kind of stories are you looking for?

We’re looking for true stories that focus on human relationships with strong characters, a narrative arc, and a clear sense of what’s at stake. Stories can run between 4-12 minutes. We are happy to consider both story pitches (an idea for a story, not yet produced) and already produced pieces. You can submit a story based on our 2019 themes or submit to our miscellanea category.

Ready to pitch?

You can share your story idea or produced story by answering a few simple questions on this form.

The deadline to submit is midnight on Thursday, February 28. Pitch as many stories as you’d like!

Questions? Email us at audiounderthestars@gmail.com.

Here are our themes:

Night and Day
The world seems different once the sun goes down. We’re looking for stories that highlight that contrast, either literally or figuratively. Think lunar cycles, circadian rhythms, morning routines, midnight adventures. From metaphorical darkness to actual sunlight, we want to hear about how time of day affects mood and meaning.

Super/Natural: Stories of Science and the Unknown
From medicine to mysticism, we’re looking for stories that explore the boundaries of what we know about the world around us. Tales of weird science, dramatic breakthroughs, surprising moments from history, and human connections made possible through science are all welcome, as are stories about mysteries, exploration, and the supernatural.

Appetites and Desires
How do our needs, both physical and emotional, bring us together? When do they pit people against others vying for the same resources? We’re looking for stories on food, hunger, ambition, and passion on a personal scale, and as part of larger systems.

Miscellanea
Got a great story or pitch that doesn’t fit the above themes that you think we need to hear? Send it along and we’ll consider it for future AUTS shows.

This project was supported by the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Arts Fund and the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.