If you haven’t met Isla Nelson yet you are in for a treat. Her comedian Dad gives us her take on everything from Celebrity Culture to Easter to Valentines Day. Enjoy!
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Tag Archives: creative thinking
Drawing is thinking…..
So when did you stop drawing? Want to start again? Join a class of absolute beginners for six fun weeks in Temple Bar. Have a read of this article here on the Cognitive Benefits of Doodling Click on the link if you want to know more about our next beginners drawing class Join us April 25!
If you write it….they will come
The actual film script is the cornerstone of most good filmmaking. The best films are the best stories told in the best way. Film is a fascinating medium. So much film is being made in Ireland right now. If you are interested in writing and story-telling you are in a unique position to become part of this. You can choose do it professionally or just for the laugh. All you need is a simple idea and a willingness to put in the work to see it through to fruition. You can learn to write your first short film script at Act The Maggot in Temple Bar in just six weeks. You will learn how to write a treatment, develop your characters and your story and write it in film format. You will learn to be ruthless in your rewriting until you have a tight, shootable script. Most of all, you will have a lot of fun with a group of like-minded people in a relaxed, learning environment. Call us today to book your spot – 087 374 4926 or actthemaggot@gmail.com. Read more about our next Beginners’ Screenwriting class starting on Tuesday, April 25. Read some of our creative writing testimonials. Here is an excellent link to see award-winning short films made all over the world. See for yourself what ingredients make the best shorts. Get started today!
Five good reasons to get Drawing with Act The Maggot
1. Pleasure
Your teacher Alexander Reilly is a gifted artist and experienced teacher. This is one of his drawings here. It is fun to try something new. Get our of your comfort zone. Meet new people. What could be better than being able to fill an empty page and bring our thoughts and musings to life? Drawing is fun, and should be enjoyed.
2. Relaxation and Mental Attitude
Some people feel most at ease when drawing. Drawing is often used for therapy and stress relief. Creating something from nothing also makes us feel productive, and that helps us feel good about ourselves. Being present in the moment and focused during a drawing session can be a feeling akin to meditation. We only get down on ourselves during a drawing if we let our ego get in the way and try to compete with others or ourselves.
3. Coordination
If you play basketball, you develop hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills. Drawing works the same way, except for your fine motor skills. The more you practice drawing, the better you get, and the better your hand, eyes, and brain can harmonize together. Your hands become an instrument to help you record the world around you.
4. Cerebral Benefits.
Drawing helps our brains grow. It is so easy to be distracted by social media and our digital devices. Our brains get a temporary endorphin release from these diversions, and it is easy to devote a large amount of time to them. Unfortunately, this can make us less industrious in our free time. Drawing is a great release, and because we are using our brain while we are drawing, we build new connections and pathways in our brain. Both sides of the brain actively participate, as the left side is responsible for logical thinking and the right supplies the creativity. As a result, our brains grow.
5. Visualisation.
Drawing helps us to map out mental images of the world we see around us. This is helpful for numerous reasons. We can map out plans, diagrams, and concepts for what we want to bring into the world, or we can make images of how a system works. Visual aids often help us comprehend large amounts of data that our brain cannot understand through numbers or words alone. On the more emotional side, drawing allows the creator to open one’s expressive vents and let emotion become recorded in the marks of your drawing. Often feelings are too complex for us to understand, and art helps record and express them.
Read more about our upcoming Beginners’ Drawing class in Temple Bar. Email us at acthemaggot@gmail.com for booking/queries.
Choose how and when you want to Act The Maggot with us!
C’mon you know you want to. So much talk about tapping into your creativity, getting out of your comfort zone and minding your mental health has sent lots of fun-seeking adults to try Act The Maggot! We are now offering four different courses on Tuesday and Thursday nights in Temple Bar. Want to complete your first ever short screenplay in just six weeks? Try Beginners Screenwriting starting April 25th, 2017. Want to relax and use pencil sketching to open up all sorts of creative possibilities in your brain? Try Beginners Drawing starting April 25th, 2017. Want to gain confidence and have lots of fun while improving concentration and focus? Consider our flagship Beginners Acting class starting May 11th, 2017. Or do you love to write? Want to develop a good practise, learning lots of new skills along the way? Try our Beginners Creative Writing class. Many people try more than one. There is so much to choose from. All aimed at the absolute beginner. All courses cost €180 and take place in Temple Bar. Call us today 087 3744926 or actthemaggot@gmail.com for queries/bookings.
Poem to start the week
Wake up. Day calls you
Wake up. Day calls you
to your life: your duty.
And to live, nothing more.
Root it out of the glum
night and the darkness
that covered your body
for which light waited
on tiptoe in the dawn.
Stand up, affirm the straight
simple will to be
a pure slender virgin.
Test your bodys metal.
cold, heat? Your blood
will tell against the snow,
or behind the window.
The colour
in your cheeks will tell.
And look at people. Rest
doing no more than adding
your perfection to another
day. Your task
is to carry your life high,
and play with it, hurl it
like a voice to the clouds
so it may retrieve the light
already gone from us.
That is your fate: to live
Do nothing.
Your work is you, nothing more.
Pedro Salinas
1891-1951
translated by Willis Barnstone
Great creative writing testimonial!
“I loved the course. Niall was amazing as were the other participants and I revived my thirst for writing. I went into the course with an idea I had started writing about. It was due to our “non-compulsory” homework for the course that a TV show proposal I wrote ended up getting commissioned for a pilot by a TV station. Everyone had different interests in the course, which is what made it so much fun and it was really laid back. Couldn’t recommend it more to get your creative juices flowing. I did it for the craic and it delivered big time.”
Wow! Act The Maggot is thrilled to deliver this latest testimonial from one very happy maggot. We are delighted with her success. Can’t wait to see it on telly. See what you can do if you knuckle down and focus in just six short weeks? The next beginners screenwriting course begins on Tuesday, April 25th and the next beginners creative writing course will begin on Tuesday, June 6th. Both classes take place in Dublin city centre. Email us to book your spot.
Read the latest testimonials for beginners’ creative writing class
Tempted to try our next Creative Writing for Beginners class? Have a read. The latest testimonials are in from the January creative writing class – thank you maggots!
“I loved the course. Niall was amazing as were the other participants and I revived my thirst for writing. I went into the course with an idea I had started writing about. It was due to our “non-compulsory” homework for the course that a TV show proposal I wrote ended up getting commissioned for a pilot by a TV station. Everyone had different interests in the course, which is what made it so much fun and it was really laid back. Couldn’t recommend it more to get your creative juices flowing. I did it for the craic and it delivered big time.”
“It was stimulating, engaging and great fun. Well facilitated. I grew in confidence with each passing week.”
“I have already recommended your course. This was a great experience. It stretched my abilities and gave me confidence to carry on scribbling. Keep up the good work.”
“I really enjoyed the course, its was so much fun and it motivated me to get my creative juices flowing again.”
“Very good. Great to do the course with a mixed bunch of people but with a common interest. Great fun.”
Read more about the next Creative Writing course starting June 6th in Temple Bar. Contact us on 01-496 7021 or 087 374 4926 or email us at actthemaggot@gmail.com to reserve your place.
Last few spots available on Beginners Acting – more new courses kick off after Easter
There are just three more places left on the March 23 course in Beginners Acting. If you want to sign up email us at actthemaggot@gmail.com to secure your place. After Easter, there will be Beginners Drawing and Beginners Screenwriting, more Beginners Acting (May 11) and a new Beginners Creative Writing course. All courses cost €180 and take place in Temple Bar. Hurry. They do book up!
Where to see great Short Films?
The way to view film and video content has changed so dramatically in recent years. Apart from catching the latest shorts at the Dublin Film Festival, it is difficult to find examples of good short films that are being made today. There are heaps of Facebook groups you can join. This website is a favourite – an amazing short films website hosting all the major film festival winners in the short film category. Happy viewing. Elsewhere, here is a cool site showing some quirky and interesting shorts films made in Ireland.If you are planning on writing your first short screenplay, it is important to study some of your favourites. Choose ones in the genre you wish to write in and study their dialogue, story arcs and the timings. You can also consider joining us at Act The Maggot in Temple Bar for our Beginner’s Screenwriting class. Working with a group helps get the juices flowing and the cross-pollination of ideas can get you really into your own story.