READ UP ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Satori Shakoor in ‘da Kink in my Hair. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

A series of online training workshops presented by Expect Theatre

SAY IT WITH A SONG: The Basics of Musical Theatre Writing with Britta Johnson

Dates: Tuesdays October 7 - November 4, 2025 (5 sessions)

Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST on Zoom

Fee for participants: $325

Subsidized spots are available, email Breanne at breanne@expect.org to inquire.

This workshop will focus on the power of music and song to explode and deepen your storytelling. We will discuss musical theatre dramaturgy, bookwriting, song structure, song spotting, lyric writing and the many expansive ways to use music to tell a story. Participants can be text-based (playwrights, lyricists, novelists) or musicians (songwriters or otherwise) but everyone will be encouraged to try their hand at scene-work and lyric writing (generating music will be optional!)

  • Britta Johnson is a composer, lyricist and writer based in Toronto. Her original musical LIFE AFTER (for which she wrote book, music and lyrics) had an extended, multiple Dora Award-winning production at Toronto’s Berkeley St. Theatre before playing at the Old Globe in San Diego and the Goodman in Chicago. Most recently, it opened at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre this past Spring. Her other writing credits include: With Sara Farb, KELLY V. KELLY (Musical Stage Co./CanStage, winner of the Playwright’s Guild of Canada Best New Musical award). With her sister Anika Johnson: DR. SILVER (MSC/Outside the March); BRANTWOOD (Theatre Sheridan); JACOB TWO-TWO (YTP); TRAP DOOR (Theatre Sheridan). With Katherine Cullen: STUPIDHEAD! (TPM). Most recently, she was a co-creator of Tim Hortons’ 60th Anniversary musical, THE LAST TIMBIT which opened at the Elgin Theatre in the Summer of 2024 before streaming nationwide on CraveTV. She was the inaugural Crescendo Artist with Musical Stage Company which included a commitment to produce three of her shows in three years and was named one of Fifty to Watch by the Broadway Women’s Fund of America.

PLAYWRITING 101: Getting to a First Draft with Erin Shields

Dates: Wednesdays October 15 - November 12, 2025 (5 sessions)

Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST on Zoom

Fee for participants: $325

Subsidized spots are available, email Breanne at breanne@expect.org to inquire.

This course is a practical approach to the fundamentals of playwriting for those who are new to the form and playwrights wishing to deepen their practice. Through conversations, focused writing exercises and sharing work, participants will gain an understanding of how to organically and technically write a play. The process will alternate focus between micro elements (character, dialogue) and macro elements (central conflict, plot structure) as playwrights gradually develop the concept for a new play. By the end of this workshop, participants will have the raw material, writing tools and confidence to launch into a first draft.

  • Erin Shields is a Canadian playwright best known for radical adaptations of classical texts which bring neglected female characters centre stage. Her latest play Ransacking Troy at The Stratford Festival is a retelling of the Trojan War Narrative from the perspective of its female players. Queen Goneril, which premiered at Soulpepper Theatre in rep with King Lear, centres Lear’s stifled daughters as they contend for power in a world that insists they remain powerless. Erin’s illuminating and hilarious adaptation of Paradise Lost (Stratford Festival), won the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Playwriting. And her harrowing tragedy about sexual violence, If We Were Birds, won the Governor General’s Award for playwriting. You can find out more about Erin’s past and upcoming work on her website: www.erinshields.ca.

INDIE CINEMA: Making Movies No Matter What with Sook-Yin Lee

Dates: Mondays October 6 - October 27, 2025 (4 sessions)

Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST on Zoom

Fee for participants: $260

Subsidized spots are available, email Breanne at breanne@expect.org to inquire.

Sook-Yin Lee, award-winning self-taught filmmaker, multimedia artist and broadcaster unlocks the key to the secret passage. You don't need tons of money or a fancy degree to make a movie. You need a good idea, tenacity and creative problem-solving to make it happen. Leaning on D.I.Y. indie filmmaking practices, she will guide you through the story you want to tell, from scriptwriting, preproduction to getting it done, on a microbudget.

  • Sook-Yin Lee, Canadian multimedia icon, makes music and films. Her most recent feature film PAYING FOR IT, a bold and intimate adaptation of Chester Brown’s best-selling graphic novel, was selected as one of Canada’s Top Ten films and won two Canadian Screen Awards. She starred in SHORTBUS, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, wrote and directed YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE, starring Cristin Milioti and OCTAVIO IS DEAD! featuring Sarah Gadon and Rosanna Arquette, which won Best Director and Best Film at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Fest. The Canadian Screen Award-winning actor and broadcaster (CBC, BBC, MuchMusic) made UNSAFE on censorship and artistic freedom for Canadian Stage. Lee has released albums, choreographed dance, and is a visual artist. She is a CSA-nominated film composer who contributed songs to Brandon Cronenberg’s horror movies Infinity Pool and Antiviral.

PAST COURSES

  • PERFECT PITCH: How to present touring projects, productions, and scripts to Artistic Directors with Jillian Keiley

  • SMALL SCREEN, BIG STAGE: A Crash Course in TV Writing for Playwrights with Chloé Hung

  • CREATE YOUR OWN RESIDENCY: A Resource for Playwrights, Directors, and Creators with Amiel Gladstone

  • WORKING TOGETHER: An Agent & Playwright, in Conversation with Colin Rivers & Marcus Youssef

  • CRITICAL THINKING:  The role of theatre criticism & how to use it with Glenn Sumi

  • WRITING FOR MUSIC THEATRE: A Step by Step Guide with Beau Dixon

  • REALLY EFFECTIVE WEAPON: Writing Comedy with Mark Crawford

  • ME, IRL: Turning Awkward Life Moments into Sketches with Aurora Browne

  • SLIDING OVER TO THE MIC: How to adapt your craft to perform behind the mic with Dee Shipley

  • OH. THEY’RE SUDDENLY SINGING: How Musicals and Narrative Songwriting Work with Kevin Wong

  • Queer Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor

    PLAY FINDING: Discovering Your Play in Your Own Story with Daniel MacIvor

  • Canadian screenwriter Fab Filippo

    WRITER’S ROOM—Idea/Pitch/Pilot: A 3-Day TV Writing Intensive with Fab Filippo

  • Black Canadian writer Leah-Simone Bowen

    MIC DROP: From Playwriting to Podcasting with Leah-Simone Bowen

  • THE LEAP: Expanding from Playwriting into TV Writing with Anusree Roy

ACCESS

From Script to Soundwaves

Join us for an immersive workshop designed for writers who are ready to harness the power of podcasting and take their storytelling beyond the stage. 

This workshop provides a rare chance to explore the art of writing for audio, whether by crafting original audio dramas or adapting existing stage scripts to work in the podcasting realm. With an emphasis on storytelling that resonates in audio, participants will gain insight into the nuances that make audio drama distinct from traditional theatre.

Through engaging hands-on activities, participants will hone their skills in crafting dialogue, designing soundscapes, and experimenting with foley techniques. These practical skills will empower them to bring their stories to life in the audio medium, ensuring they leave the workshop with a strong understanding of how to produce compelling audio content.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to elevate your craft and share your stories with listeners around the world.

Registration is now closed.