Improvisation Weekend

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Improvisation Weekend Intensive – Dublin

Kickstart your improv journey with this fun, immersive and thought-provoking weekend. Not everyone can make or get into our Thursday night top-selling flaghship course – Beginners Acting – consider this improvisation weekend and join us in this intensive and hilarious exploration of the basic principles of improvisation and acting. This course is perfect for curious beginners or those who would love to get back on their creativity saddle! Act The Maggot knows improvisation  – we’ve been at it nearly 10 years!

Who can take this Improvisation Weekend Intensive?

People who ARE NOT based in Dublin and cannot attend our evening classes.
People who ARE based in Dublin and cannot attend our evening classes.
People who did Act The Maggot before and want a refresher.
Peiople who want to get out of their comfort zone.
People who have NO experience in acting or improv.
People who want to work on their confidence, creativity and communication skills.
PEOPLE WHO WANT TO ACT THE MAGGOT!!!

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What are the dates for the improvisation weekend intensive?

Friday, March 27th, 2020 to Sunday, March 29th, 2020

What are the workshop hours for the improvisation weekend intensive?

Friday
7.30pm to 9.30pm followed by welcome drinks nearby.
Saturday
10.30am to 1pm LUNCH 2pm to 4.30pm
Sunday
10.30am to 1pm

Where does it take place?

All sessions will take place in Chapterhouse Education, 73 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

I don’t know Dublin, where will I stay?

Get in touch with us and we can advise on neighbourhoods, transport, restaurants etc.

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the improvisation weekend intensive?

You must be over 18.

How much does the improvisation weekend intensive cost?

€240.00 or get the early bird price of €180.00 if you book before Dec 15, 2019 (concessions available upon request)

What does this fee cover?

Entrance into all four sessions, Friday night, Sat morn & afternoon and Sunday morning.

How do I pay?

Contact us via email – actthemaggot@gmail.com – put Improvisation Weekend in the subject line.

Meditation really can matter

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Meditation

Practicing meditation is one of the most powerful things I have ever done. I remember thinking I would never be able to meditate. My first encounter with meditation when I was around 19 and I went to a yoga class. At the end of the class we all lay down in Shavasana (or corpse pose as it’s known in English), the teacher put on some music and told us to meditate. I lay there with my mind racing, thinking about what I was going to have for dinner, whether I’d need to go to the shops or not, what I’d watch on telly etc. etc. How could I meditate? Nobody had ever taught me how to do it. I have since learned how to meditate by practicing and by reading more about the benefits of meditation and ways to do it that suit me. I once thought that you had to be able to stop all the thoughts in your head to be able to meditate. This is a myth and it is not possible. We have something like 60,000 thoughts a day so it is not possible to stop them. Even long time meditators are not able to stop their thoughts. With practice you learn how to not get caught up in your thoughts, you acknowledge them and then let them go. This is where mindfulness can benefit your meditation practice.

How do I start?

The simplest way to start meditating is to start, it’s as simple as that. Basically set aside even just five minutes a day to sit quietly and connect to the breath in your body. Practice focused breathing like 7/11 breathing. Breathe in for the count of 7 and out for the count of 11. By counting your breathing you will be able to focus on the breath rather than your thoughts. With practice this will become easier.

Can technology help?

You can listen to guided meditations if you find that easier. There are lots of apps available for free. My favourite app is Insight Timer, where you can explore numerous different meditations. If you ‘d like to read more about Insight Timer click here. Try a few different ones until you find the ones that suit you best. I particularly like guided visualisations as I find this a good way to stop getting caught up in my thoughts.

Choose what works for you

If you know the type of person you are and which of your senses you are most connected to it will make it easier for you to find a meditation practice to suit you. The best way to find out is to think about how you describe places. For instance when I have been on holiday and I come back I usually talk about the food I had, the place I stayed, how the people were. I am very visual with a strong emphasis on taste. The five senses are taste, smell, vision, sound, and touch. Trying different meditation practices based on these five senses will help you find out which one works best for you.

Start with just five minutes a day

Meditation is a great way to switch off our brains at the end of a busy day. It is a great way to focus our minds at the beginning of the day. Great way to relax and wind down in the middle of the day if we have been running around. Even just five minutes a day can make a difference. Start with five minutes and aim for thirty minutes a day. You will be surprised at how beneficial you find it.

If you would like to learn to meditate with a group of people, why not join myself and Amy for The Power Of Me morning workshop in June. All the best, Anne Marie Curran. Read more here.

Public Speaking Made Easy

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“For anyone giving a speech, a presentation, or talking in public, I would really recommend ‘Act The Maggot.’ Amy made it much much easier than I could ever have imagined. This course certainly made me feel a whole lot better and no longer do I have that sense of dread or fear.”

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Is Public Speaking a necessity?

How many people do you know who fear Public Speaking? I know at least ten who are absolutely petrified at the thought of speaking in public. And they are good friends who have confided in me. A lot of people orchestrate their personal lives and especially their work lives to avoid having to speak in public but nowadays this is becoming more and more difficult. Many jobs require some element of Public Speaking. It does not always mean literally getting up and giving a speech. It can be presenting the quarterly accounts, chairing a discussion, speaking up at meetings.

Is it time to tackle your Glossophobia?

Glossophobia is speech anxiety or fear of speaking in public. Did you know that it has been estimated that 75% of all people experience some degree of anxiety/nervousness when it comes to public speaking. If untreated, public speaking anxiety can lead to serious detrimental effects on one’s quality of life, career goals and other areas. For example, educational goals requiring public speaking might be left unaccomplished. However, not all persons with public speaking anxiety are necessarily unable to achieve work goals, though this disorder becomes problematic when it prevents an individual from attaining or pursuing a goal they might otherwise have – were it not for their anxiety. Read this Forbes magazine article about Public Speaking.

What can you do if you are afraid of Public Speaking?

Face your fear and do it anyway! It feels wonderful to set yourself a challenge and see it through. It gets easier with time and the right preparation. The right preparation being key. Take a course. it doesn’t have to be a Masters. It doesn’t have to happen over months and months. And it does not have to be all serious. Take a short evening class. There are lots of options. With us, after six two-hour sessions with others in a group you will improve hugely and be in a much stronger position. And we take a light approach to learning. We are serious about the learning but we like it to be fun and interesting. Our Public Speaking course runs twice a year only. The next one runs from 7.30pm to 9.30pm on Tuesday nights from May 21 to June 25, 2019. Price €240. Please email us for more details or to secure your place. actthemaggot@gmail.com To read more about our class take a look at our Effective Public Speaking page. We look forward to seeing you in class!

Weekend workshop morning pages

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morning-pagesDuring The Power Of Me Weekend workshop we will learn how to write our own Morning pages.

What are Morning pages?

They are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages – they are not high art. They are not even ‘writing’.

What do you write about?

They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind – and they are for your eyes only. Morning pages provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritise and synchronise the day at hand. Do not over-think Morning Pages, just put three pages of anything on the page and then do three more pages tomorrow. Julia Cameron, the author of The Artist’s Way, says that really they should be Mourning Pages because they are a farewell to life as you knew it and welcome to life as it is going to be. You write down whatever is moving through your consciousness like a meditation, some people call these ‘Cloud thoughts’.

Why should I do them in the morning?

The reason for doing them first thing in the morning is to get all the negativity down on the page so you can get on with the rest of your day in a more positive frame of mind. You can view morning pages as a kind of brain dump, get rid of anything annoying you, playing on your mind and stopping you from being your powerful vibrant self. If you wish to return to The Power Of Me Weekend Workshop page, click here.

Weekend Retreat Solar Plexus

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During The Power Of Me Weekend Retreat some of our meditations will focus on the Solar Plexus Chakra – The Gateway of the Sun.

The Solar Plexus Chakra or energy centre
is located just above your belly button. It is the centre connected to your innate power. The Solar Plexus is also known as the gateway of the sun as it is associated with the colour yellow and it’s element is fire. The expression ‘I’ve a fire in my belly’ is probably unknowingly associated to our power energy centre, the Solar Plexus. This chakra rules the digestive system and just as the physical digestive system digests food to give us energy, the Solar Plexus extracts and stores Prana. Prana is the life force energy that permeates all life. The Solar Plexus is our place of empowerment in the world, our personal fuel store. When our fuel store is low we lack the power and drive to project ourselves in the world. The Solar Plexus is also called Manipura which means ‘lustrous gem’ or ‘city of jewels’. In Irish mythology it is believed that there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. The rainbow represents all the colours of the chakras which is symbolic of the journey through the chakras. This saying teaches that spiritual ascension, up the rainbow or through the chakras, will lead us to the priceless golden gift of enlightenment. We can balance our Solar Plexus energy centre by meditation and imagining a yellow sun in our belly or holding our hands on the centre and feeling the warmth beneath them. Eating yellow coloured fruits and vegetables also help balance the centre, so bananas, lemons, yellow peppers, yellow plums will all help balance the Solar Plexus. Exercise and treatments that help balance our chakras in general include yoga, tai chi, Qi Gong, Reiki, Shiatsu and Amatsu. Practicing deep breathing is also an excellent way to connect to your Solar Plexus. Harness that power in your belly, light your internal fire today. If you wish to return to The Power Of Me Weekend Retreat page, click here.

Weekend Retreat Journaling

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During the weekend retreat we will introduce participants to the benefits of daily journaling. In our fast-paced world where everything happens so fast and life gets so busy, it is important to be able to process and analyse our own felt experience. There is so much emphasis on “treatment” or “cure” for this or that ailment, so when it comes to psychology we seem to have adopted the same approach. Somewhere a long the way, we have forgotten how valuable our own insight is – to ourselves. What is the famous quote of Socrates, “Know thyself”. The ability to inspect our own experience with pure compassion and no judgment at all – is one of the most vital self care tools we can hope to cultivate and it can carry you through the tough times and the good times. It is good to be able to record joy and happiness as well as learning about our own behaviour. Why this upset us? Why our feelings were hurt? How we react in certain situations. How we can change over the months and years. To return to The Power Of Me Weekend Retreat page, click here.

Weekend Retreat Manifesto Writing

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During The Power Of Me weekend retreat we will write our own personal manifesto. You have heard this word before, no doubt. Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto? It is a credo. Our personal manifesto is something like our mission statement. Most companies or organisations have a mission statement. A raison d’être. We, as humans can also have our own mission statement. It keeps us focused and often can give us some perspective and calm when things go awry. It can be good to look back over our written manifesto to clarify things. Our personal manifesto is a written document that puts into words our deepest feelings about ourselves, our purpose and our beliefs. What we stand for? What we are willing to accept or not to accept. What we feel we deserve. What we wish to see in the world, in our lives, in our partners’ or children’s lives. It is a record of our hopes, aspirations and dreams. To return to The Power Of Me Weekend Retreat page, click here.

Weekend Retreat Menu

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Our chefs will prepare delicious meals for us throughout the weekend. They have pulled together an amazing selection of recipes from their favourite chefs. Just some of our dishes will include recipes such as Nigel Slater’s Morroccan Couscous, Avoca Cafe’s Beetroot Slaw, Blazing Salads mixed wholegrain salad with ginger and soy as well as some favourites from Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Fresh fruits and home made cakes and desserts will also feature. All meals will be plant-based. Participants are advised to let us know if they have any food allergies. Return to The Power Of Me page, click here.

Reiki Healing Energy explained

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What is Reiki Healing?

Reiki Healing (pronounced ray key) is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.  It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.  If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are capable of being happy and healthy.reikiman

It’s all about balance

Reiki is a holistic form of healing and works on Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual levels at the same time. The term “healing” refers to the balancing of energy in the body so that it may heal itself.

Reiki healing helps the client to heal and rebalance themselves; it stimulates the healing energies of the body and encourages the particular area of the body to heal itself.

One obtains this power to perform Reiki by being attuned by a Reiki master. This is done in four sessions in which the master activates the chakras, creating an open channel for the energy. The attunement process is not made known for general information, but is held in secrecy for only those being initiated. One of the main reasons Reiki has become so popular is its apparently pleasurable experience. Those who have experienced Reiki report feeling a powerful sense of warmth and security.

Some Hollywood celebrities who use Reiki Healing

Here is a list of Hollywood celebrities who find Reiki useful in their busy lifestyle – for example Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Uma Thurman, Helen Hunt, Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, Macy Gray, Sandra Bullock, Ellen DeGeneres, Kate Bosworth, Michael Flatley and Nicole Kidman.

Would you like to try Reiki Healing?

If you would like to sample a Reiki healing session, we will be offering complimentary sessions to participants at our Power Of Me Weekend Retreat

This holistic weekend focusing on Mindfulness and Journaling for increased wellness and focus will take place in beautiful Townley Hall, Drogheda, May 17-19, 2019. If you’d like to know more about Anne-Marie Curran, psychotherapist, well-being coach and Reiki Healer click here.

Vision Boards really do work

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vision boardVision Boards
You may have heard of these things called vision boards. You may be interested in learning how to make your own vision board. They are fantastic tools for focus and goal-setting. You can use pictures of places you would like to travel, your favourite car, dream lover, your dream body, your business goals, inspirational quotes, pictures of friends and family. Basically, anything that you love. For more information on how to make vision boards take a look at this article I published on Linkedin

Oprah Winfrey uses vision boards
Did you know that Oprah Winfrey uses vision boards?

“The media mogul, who pulled herself up from poverty to become one of the wealthiest women in the world, might be one of the biggest celebrity supporters of affirmations.

Her commitment started young: As a child watching her grandmother toil away, Winfrey says she’d tell herself over and over again: “My life won’t be like this. My life won’t be like this, it will be better.”

Besides frequently showcasing success stories of positive thinking on The Oprah Winfrey Show — and even discussing creating her own vision boards to realize her dreams — her many words of wisdom to fans include: “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe“.

Arnold Schwarzenegger also uses the power of visualization.
As a young athlete, Schwarzenegger swore by the power of visualization to reach his bodybuilding goals.

“I had this fixed idea of growing a body like Reg Park’s. The model was there in my mind; I only had to grow enough to fill it,” he explained. “The more I focused in on this image and worked and grew, the more I saw it was real and possible for me to be like him.”

Later, when he transitioned to careers in acting and politics, Schwarzenegger said he employed similar mental tricks: “It’s the same process I used in bodybuilding: What you do is create a vision of who you want to be — and then live that picture as if it were already true.

Read how actor Jim Carrey motivates himself
To stay motivated, actor Jim Carrey wrote himself a check for $10 million for “acting services rendered,” dated it for 1994, and carried it in his wallet for daily inspiration. In 1994, Carrey learned he would reap exactly $10 million for his role in Dumb and Dumber.

Want to make a vision board with us?
Join our Weekend Retreat, May 17-19th, 2019. Form more information click here

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