Spec Labs' 2025 Year-In-Review!

2025 is coming to a close and with it marks the end of Spec Labs tenth year of operation! We had big plans to celebrate our ten-year milestone in 2025 and with the help of our community and our talented artists, this year exceeded our expectations! We've taken this moment of reflection and celebration to put together Spec Labs 2025 End-of-Year Giving Campaign. If you'd like to make a donation, you can do so now at Donate Now | Spectrum Laboratory.

2025 saw a massive amount of growth and creativity for Spec Labs, from a full roster of classes across our four departments—many of which saw the successful launch of brand-new programs (and more coming!) —to a plethora of live performances and concert events showcasing our autistic and neurodivergent artists throughout the year.

Some highlights: We saw our songwriters showing their stuff at March Jamboree and Spec Cella, while the bands duked it out at our very first Battle of the Bands. A live stage reading of our upcoming “Caverns & Chimeras” feature-length film (Spec Labs very first!) brought to life our epic fantasy musical created in our short film production class. The Spec-ond City Players shared their spec-tastic comedy flair live on stage at The Laugh Factory alongside iconic comedians like Nic Novicki and Brian Kiley for the “Neurodiversity Night of Laughs.” And who could forget our annual Halloween spectacular, Spec-O-Ween, which combined the talents of artists from all four departments for a hauntingly good time! 2025 has been jam-packed with spectacular moments led by our autistic and neurodivergent student artists!

One of the year’s biggest accomplishments has been the opening of our brand-new studio space in Burbank! Spec Labs has been searching for a home base ever since its inception in 2015 and it feels poetic that in our tenth year, we were finally able to launch an official space for Spec Lab Studios! We are so excited to make more Spec Labs magic with our artists in our new space in 2026!

Take a look at our brand-new Year-In-Review video—put together by the amazingly talented Annie Postlewaite—to see some more highlights from Spec Labs’ out-of-this-world 2025! Click here to watch the video on our GiveLively page! Share the link with your friends and family to help us celebrate an unforgettable year. And make a donation to help us kickstart an epic 2026!

Please consider donating to our 2025 End-of-Year Campaign so that we can continue to celebrate, support, and uplift neurodivergent and autistic artists and their creative talents. You can make a donation to Spec Labs 2025 Giving Campaign at the following link: Donate Now | Spectrum Laboratory. Any contribution is greatly appreciated! 

We are so thankful this year and every year for our amazing community of artists, staff, collaborators, and constant supporters! It is with all of your continued generosity and support that we have been able to make it to ten amazing years. Here’s to 2026 and ten more amazing years!

Much gratitude and happy Holidays from your friends at Spec Labs!

What's New with Spec Labs!

Happy May, everyone!

Spec Labs has had a busy few months filled with concerts, comedy shows, and lots of fun working alongside our student artists. Check out some of our 2025 highlights so far and get excited for what’s still to come!

MARCH

March was a big month for Spec Labs!

March Jamboree!

On March 14th, The Neurotribe and a selection of Spec Labs’ songwriters performed their original songs live at Scribble in Highland Park! Check out some of the amazing images from the show below, courtesy of photographer Annie Postlewaite.

2025 Marvels of Media!

March also saw Spec Labs take on the 2025 Marvels of Media Festival as both an educational partner and an honoree! Spec Labs’ psychological thriller short, “House of Masks” made its New York premiere at the festival’s “Vibrant Voices: Four Shorts” screening event! The screening was followed by a panel discussion where co-director and Spec Labs’ co-founder, Jason Weissbrod, spoke alongside his fellow filmmakers. While at the festival, Weissbrod also hosted a “Media Maker Talk and Networking Mixer” where he gave creative and professional advice to fellow artists.

Photograph by Maureen Thedford.

APRIL

In April, Spec Labs celebrated the amazing talents of our autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled artists for Autism Acceptance Month!

Jorge Gutierrez Testimonial!

As part of our Autism Acceptance Month celebration, we put together a video highlighting our relationship with writer, animator, and director, Jorge Gutierrez! Ever since Spec Labs first collaborated with Jorge, he has been a great support to our community and is now a member on our advisory board! Jorge’s passion and positivity inspires all of our artists to share their authentic voices. Spec Labs loves Jorge!

Watch the video below to hear more about Jorge’s experience with Spec Labs.

Spec Labs' Battle of the Bands!

On Sunday, April 13th, Spec Labs hosted its debut Battle of the Bands show! Our four Spec Bands rocked the faces off the crowd at The Goldfish in a musical battle judged by industry judges, Jennifer Decilveo, Ggwendolyn, and Mikey Ferrari! Check out the images below to see our bands in action, photography courtesy of Annie Postlewaite!

One of our musicians at the show, Ben Buisnik, shared some kind words about what it means to him working with Spec Labs. Find out what he had to say in the video below!

The Spec-ond City Players Return to the Laugh Factory!

On Monday, April 28th, Spec Labs’ sketch comedy and improv group once again graced the stage at Hollywood’s historic Laugh Factory! The Spec-ond City Players performed some brand-new sketches on the comedy club’s well-tread stage, several of which were written by the performers! The night also featured some amazing stand-up routines by comedians Nic Novicki, Laurie Kilmartin, and Brian Kiley! Take a look at some highlights from the show in the photos below!

Photography by Annie Postlewaite.

MAY

To kick start May, the Spec-ond City Players performed at our “May Be Funny, May Be Not” improv and sketch comedy show on Thursday, May 1st! Our clever comedians performed two back-to-back shows live at The Little Victory Theatre in Burbank for a night of some much-needed laughter!

MORE TO COME!

We’re currently at work on our ten-year-anniversary film, a high-fantasy adventure story featuring the acting and musical talents of our Spec Labs artists! Also coming up in June, Spec Labs will be hosting a show where our artists in the Make Your Band program will perform their original music live at Scribble in Highland Park! Stay tuned for more info!

2025 has already been an amazing year for Spec Labs so far, and we can’t wait to keep the good times rolling!

Spec Labs at the 2025 Marvels of Media Festival!

Another year, another Marvels of Media festival! Spec Labs is excited to share our return to this year’s 2025 Marvels of Media Festival as an educational partner and honoree!

Co-founder, Jason Weissbrod, represents Spec Labs at the 2025 Marvels of Media Festival.

Photography by Maureen Thedford.

The third annual Marvels of Media Festival was held this past March to share the outstanding work created by artists on the autism spectrum in a celebration hosted at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image. This year, on top of our educational partnership, Spec Labs’ psychological thriller short, “House of Masks,” made its New York premiere at the festival’s “Vibrant Voices: Four Shorts” screening event! "House of Masks" was screened at the festival on Friday, March 28th alongside three other short films. Learn more about the screening event here: Vibrant Voices: Four Shorts – Museum of the Moving Image.

“House of Masks” is co-directed by Spec Labs’ co-founder Jason Weissbrod, and the film’s star, Atticus Jackson. Though unable to attend the screening, Jackson shared a moving sentiment with Weissbrod upon learning about this momentous honor: “This is the biggest moment of my career.”

We are so happy to have been able to share our autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled artists’ work on a larger scale with the support of the Marvels of Media! Weissbrod represented Spec Labs at the March festival in Jackson’s stead, participating in a panel following the film’s screening where he engaged with fellow filmmakers in the “Vibrant Voices” category to discuss the makings of their films.

"House of Masks" Co-Director, Jason Weissbrod (far right), spoke on the "Vibrant Voices: Four Shorts" panel. He was joined by filmmakers Ben Stansbery ("Insight") and Samara Huckvale ("420 Ways to Die"), and actor Tal Anderson ("Breaking Normal"). Photography by Maureen Thedford.

Photography by Maureen Thedford.

Weissbrod also hosted a networking event at the festival! The “Media-Maker Talk and Networking Mixer” took place on Saturday, March 29th and featured helpful advice, courtesy of Weissbrod, for artists working to build their professional connections, as well as their creative portfolios. Learn more about the event here!

We are so excited and honored to have been recognized at the 2025 Marvels of Media Festival! We hope to continue working with the festival and meeting fellow artists who are working to support and celebrate the amazing creative talents of autistic artists.

Looking forward to next year!