CURRENT WORKSHOPS
OH. THEY’RE SUDDENLY SINGING: How Musicals and Narrative Songwriting Work with Kevin Wong
Dates: Wednesdays April 22 - May 20
Time: 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST over Zoom
Fee for participants: $325
Subsidized spots are available, email Breanne at breanne@expect.org to inquire.
Application due: April 10, 2026
Kevin Wong will lead a workshop on how musicals work, focusing both on the structure and methodology of narrative songwriting, and also how songs function in the long-form narrative of musical development. Text/lyric based participants ideally have written some form of long-form narrative before (novels/plays/etc). Musical participants do NOT need to be composers, but ideally can come up with some melodies and chords. Participants can also be a hybrid of both disciplines. Because this workshop is so focused on hands-on craft, adjustments, and rewrites, participants must be able to generate and edit on their own - generative AI material will not be considered.
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Kevin Wong is a composer-lyricist, singer/musician, and dramaturg. His musicals include: Recurring John: A Song Cycle; Polly Peel (with Julie Tepperman); Out of Stock; Drama 101 (with Steven Gallagher); In Real Life (with Nick Green); Believers (with Ali Joy Richardson), Take Me Back (with Amir Haidar); and Soft Magical Tofu Boys. Kevin streams online concerts weekly on the streaming service Twitch (twitch.tv/kevinywong). He is a member of the vocal group Asian Riffing Trio (with Chris Tsujiuchi and Colin Asuncion), is currently part-time faculty at Sheridan College, and is a three-time winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Dan School of Drama & Music Award for New Musical. As of 2023, he is the Creative Lead on the Musical Stage Company’s UnCovered concert series. Most recently, he can be heard on his albums Small Ways to Move and Covers (available on streaming services).
FROM IDEA TO PITCH: Make Your Series Sellable with Fabrizio Filippo
Dates: April 22-May 20, 2026 (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.
Applications due: April 10, 2026
Take your TV series idea from spark to sellable in this writer’s room–style workshop led by Fabrizio Filippo. Together, we’ll break down the essentials of a strong pitch—loglines, character, season arcs, and the ever-elusive story engine that keeps a show alive.
You’ll study real examples of pitches that sold (and some that didn’t), learning how different ideas are shaped, framed, and communicated. We’ll also focus on the art of the verbal pitch—how to present your idea with clarity, confidence, and personality.
Participants will have the opportunity to bring in their own ideas and workshop them in a collaborative, writer’s room–style environment, receiving feedback from both the group and the instructor.
Sharing Ideas & Respecting Creative Work
This course is designed to be a collaborative, supportive space where writers can freely explore and develop their ideas. Throughout our time together, participants may share original concepts, story ideas, or works-in-progress. We ask that everyone approach these conversations with generosity and respect for one another’s creative ownership.
Please keep in mind that this is an open forum, and while we aim to foster trust, we can’t guarantee confidentiality. If you have an idea you're not ready to share publicly, you're welcome to keep it private until you feel comfortable.
All course materials created by the instructors remain their intellectual property and are shared for your learning only — please don’t reproduce or distribute them without permission.
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Fabrizio Filippo is an award-winning TV creator, writer/director, and showrunner. He co-created, wrote, directed, and served as showrunner on SORT OF, the half-hour series for CBC and HBO Max (Sphere Media), which landed on Top Ten lists from Vanity Fair to Rolling Stone and won a Peabody Award. He has directed over 20 episodes of television across comedy, drama, and true crime, and has developed for FX, Fox Television, Amazon and Crave. He is currently in development with an hour-long genre series for indie powerhouse Killer Films as well as with a new half-hour for CBC/Sphere Media. He was also instrumental in the development of the Netflix series North of North.
His previous work includes creating, directing, and showrunning the critically acclaimed short-form series Save Me, which earned over 20 international festival nominations and a Webby. His most recent stage play, The Summoned, premiered at Tarragon Theatre, played to sold-out houses, and earned him a Dora Award nomination for Playwriting.
As an actor, Filippo is known for roles in Lives of the Saints opposite Sophia Loren, the indie cult hit waydowntown, and as Ethan Gold in Showtime’s groundbreaking series Queer as Folk. He is also frequently recognized for his appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.