‘Tis the season! What’s new with those maggots?

xmasCHRIMPROV: It’s all go here at Act The Maggot. The Christmas Party this year has been dubbed the ChrIMPROV!! We will host a free Improv session on Dec 7th followed by a few seasonal drinks. This is open to maggots from over the years. Come back! Say hi! Whip out your wackiest character and come have the craic with your old classmates – or meet some new maggots. There is no doubt you have all got something in common! Maggotology? Maggotiness? Maggotanaeity? Maggotificence? Whatever. Join us.
OTHER NEWS: Our current beginners’ acting class is in full swing. I hear this week they were massaging their vocal chords and rolling all over the floor in their Temple bar studio.  The things you do of Thursday, wha! SHOWCASE: Elsewhere in city centre, our Level 3 maggots are up to ninety putting the finishing touches to their scenes.  They have all been working really hard. Fourteen actors will star in seven different scenes in the Act The Maggot showcase on November 30th. Break a leg guys! That is sure to be a highly entertaining evening. And no doubt a few drinks will be had after to celebrate. CASTING INFO: There is an interesting Q&A session happening over in Smithfield on Monday night, Nov 27th with top dog casting director, Priscilla John. It’s free, so if you want to know more about the business from her point of view, get thee to eventbrite and sign up for it here. NEW COURSES: Booking has already begun on our 2018 courses, so get cracking  if you want to try your hand at beginners acting, creative writing or drawing. New Year, New You? Go for it guys. You won’t regret it. We are delivering another of our regular introduction to Mindfulness workshops in Rathmines this weekend and Act The Maggot is thrilled to announce it’s new venture with Elavon Financial Services – bringing Mindfulness to the corporate sector to their offices in Cherrywood, Dublin and Arklow. That’s all for now folks! Looking forward to a calm December!!!

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.

See latest testimonials for Beginners’ Creative Writing

quote4-w“I went into with a good attitude and I wasn’t let down. My teacher was brilliant. He had an amazing passion for writing that he shared with all of his students. He shared good resources with us all and gave us a beginners insight into the writing world. Something that other courses don’t offer. I couldn’t recommend the course enough and I’m looking forward to doing another course with Act the Maggot.”

“Act the Maggot was an excellent experience and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest is developing their writing skills or adapting their knowledge to serve an alternate purpose. With a diverse group of those looking to achieve different goals and pursue various methods of writing, we each have greatly gained from the course.”

“It was excellent and our teacher was amazing.”

“This was a great experience. It stretched my abilities and gave me confidence to carry on scribbling. Thanks to the teacher for his encouragement and easy manner. Keep up the good work.”

Read about the next Creative Writing course. If you have any queries please email us at actthemaggot@gmail.com

Choose how and when you want to Act The Maggot with us!

img_4446.jpgC’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

Congratulations!

boomWell done to the maggots who have just completed their six-week beginners’ creative writing course tonight. An excellent bunch of writers in all with so many interesting characters and stories. Watch this space! Congratulations is also due to last week’s bunch who completed their six weeks in beginners’ acting. A rowdy lot they turned out to be once they got to know one another! A great time was had with both groups and we look forward to the follow on courses as well as launching our new introductory courses in drawing and screenwriting. Oh yes, it’s going to be a very creative spring here at Act The Maggot. Sure we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Gateway launches Creative Writing booklet

quote3-wAct The Maggot is thrilled to have been invited to deliver a month of Creative Writing sessions to the longstanding writers’ group at Gateway Mental Health Association. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such a talented bunch. We even got to help members prepare for a public reading of their own written work. We wish them the best of luck launching their Creative Writing booklet in Rathmines Library on March 10th, 2017.

Friday Poem: When I Met My Muse

When I Met My Muse

I glanced at her and took my glasses
Off –- they were still singing. They buzzed
like a locust on the coffee table and then
ceased. Her voice belled forth, and the
sunlight bent. I felt the ceiling arch, and
knew that nails up there took a new grip
on whatever they touched. “I am your own
way of looking at things,” she said. “When
you allow me to live with you, every
glance at the world around you will be
a sort of salvation.” And I took her hand.

Stafford, William, An Oregon Message, 1987