Drawing is so much fun!

Gallery

This gallery contains 7 photos.

All sorts of wonderful drawing came out of our recent Beginner’s Drawing class in Rathmines. It’s so much fun learning to make art using just pencils, charcoal and the odd coloured pencil or marker! Such a relaxing way to spend a … Continue reading

Five reasons to take an art class

screen-shot-2017-05-31-at-09-45-241. Making art may reduce stress and anxiety.
2. Creating visual art improves connections in the brain.
3. Art making can help us get over sadness.
4. Mindless sketching can help focus.
5. Turning our problems into narratives can help us work through them.
Read the full article here
Read more about our next beginners drawing class

Sold Out!

tootootBoth Sept 14 Level 1 beginners acting class and Sept 7 Level 2 acting class are now completely full. The next Level 1 beginners acting class will run from Nov 2 to Dec 7. Contact us at actthemaggot@gmail.com to book your spot. Our Level 3 acting class will kick off Oct 19 and will finish on Nov 30. There will be another Level 2 class in March 2018. Booking is now open also for Tuesday night classes: Beginners Creative Writing (Sept 26), Beginners Drawing (Sept 26) and Beginners Screenwriting (Oct 3). Get looking and get booking maggots. Places fill fast.

Learning to Draw is so much fun and more relaxing than we realised

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screen-shot-2017-05-31-at-09-46-44We had such a great time in the Beginners Drawing class. So sad it is over. What a lovely relaxing time of a Tuesday. This is one hobby worth keeping. Next course will be in September. For more information about this contact us at actthemaggot@gmail.com #drawing #art #mindfulness #relaxation #perspective #humans

Take a look at our Testimonials

img_4446.jpgBeginners Acting for Adults, Beginners’ Creative Writing and Beginners’ Drawing. Why do people Act The Maggot? What do they think about their experience? Take a look at some more testimonials.

“It was a brilliant experience for me. Somedays I felt very tired going to class and came skipping out. It felt a very safe platform to try out acting as a beginner while also encourging you to go outside your comfort zone. It was a great way to meet new people with plenty of opportunities to get to know people outside of the class also. People were from different walks of life which was lovely and added to the whole experience.”

I loved the course. 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 by a TV station. Everyone had different interests which is what make it so much fun and it was really laid back. Couldn’t recommend it more to get you creative juices flowing. I did it for the crack and it delivered big time.”

“I really enjoyed the different backgrounds and different ages of participants and that it was focused on people with no acting experience. It took a lot of pressure off doing the course. Some of the exercises were very interesting like the mindfulness have encouraged me to research more into that area as well. It’s very good. A friend of mine has signed up to it recently as well.”

“It is fun, creative, easy going but with just the right amount of challenge to keep it interesting and really worth going going back to each week. I found it great for my self confidence and well being to speak in front of others and to be creative, play and use imagination in the company of like minded people while being facilitated by someone who ensured it was safe and fun.”

What do you get when you cross the Abbey Theatre with two Scotsmen?

unknownRelevance.
Perhaps? Let’s see.
Most heavy weight or complicated subjects cannot be discussed on air live in a radio studio, much less on television. And often, right now, is just too early to dissect an issue. It hasn’t even been digested. It’s too raw. It’s too cooked. Too silent. Too loud. Too in your face. On air, the segment, the sound bite, the phone in, all of it is not working. Things are begin left out. We are not getting the full story. The time does not permit it. There is no conclusive argument – “that’s all we have time for folks, I’m going to have to cut you short there”, how many times have you heard that? Or how frustrating is it when all you hear are lots of white men talking over one another in a studio and nothing is really said or heard. And, although social media is definitely more inclusive and it is good for picking up on stuff or catching the gist of a news story…..you can just forget about Facebook and Twitter for informed debate unless you have hours upon hours at your disposal for wading through the miles of rants, inaccuracies and the repetition! How about theatre then? Can it be a place of relevance? As opposed to this high brow, obtuse, irrelevant place where middle-aged people go to fall asleep before their steak dinners. Is a play the result of one writer tap tap tapping away beside a burning flame in a dusty garret? Yes and No. But mainly, No. The playwright is a very specific kind of writer. Albeit still poor. And when paid, still underpaid but that is food for another day. The playwright writes for the stage. Is thinking orally all the time. Thinking how people think and talk. The playwright covers many angles. Looks at a story, event, issue from the point of view of different characters and that is key. We are in a very exciting period for theatre. Now more than ever, we need discourse, debate, analysis and I’m sorry but the media machine is not doing its job of facilitating this. In real time, current issues are lost to the next, hottest story in the blink of an eye. And what was of vital significance yesterday is all but forgotten by today. There is also very real menacing legal fears. Can we print this? Can you say that? Ah the beauty of fiction. Theatre can revisit these real time issues and light them up again. Put them under the microscope. There is something about it being “up there” on the stage, the rational and the emotional fused. Stories made flesh. Maybe we can see things more clearly. Tf successful, a good play can truly cast some new light on a subject. And then, maybe then, we can have a proper, satisfying, conclusive argument afterwards in the pub. Imagine that?! Now that kind of theatre might even lead to change or God forbid, action. It might lead to better journalism and better theatre again. Osmosis. Dare I say it? A better world. The Abbey theatre is now being run by two new directors from Scotland and things are hotting up there. Neil Murray and Graham McLaren have just announced three brand new short plays as three urgent responses to issues that are happening right now. Take a look at their most recently announced short play line-up for May and treat yourself to a ticket. I for one am definitely going to check out A Whisper Anywhere Else today!

This Scottish three-year-old rocks

screen-shot-2017-04-20-at-10-01-18If 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!

Drawing is thinking…..

Robot on HorseSo 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!

Five good reasons to get Drawing with Act The Maggot

Robot on Horse1. 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.

Last few spots available on Beginners Acting – more new courses kick off after Easter

wholetmeadult!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!