Throwback Thursday maggot backstory

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It’s important to connect and stay connected

This image was sent to me fairly recently by someone who attended my first ever Act The Maggot beginners acting class over eight years ago! Hard to believe. I love how I have been able to stay connected to maggots from previous beginners  acting, drawing or writing classes through social media and have been kept informed of their lives’ vicissitudes. Career changes, babies, travels, successes, losses. It is great to stay in touch with this community and see them stay in touch with one another. I always love when people connect with Act The Maggot and send me on images, quotes and funny videos that I can share on all the platforms.

Possible reasons why Act The Maggot resonates

I think the reason Act The Maggot resonates so much with me is exactly like this picture. When I was a child the world was different. We were to be seen and not heard. We were told everything and our opinions were rarely summoned. I was constantly told to stop acting the maggot and be serious. Stop acting the maggot my teacher would say. Stop acting the maggot my Girl Guide leader would say. Stop acting the maggot, my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older sisters, all would say. Then when I got into my teenage years I encountered mild, existential depression I was told I think too much and to try not to be so serious! I guess I was concerned about where I was going and what would happen to me. The usual concerns of a young person.

Caminante, no hay camino, se hace el camino al andar.
Traveller, there is no road, the road is made by walking.

Anyway, I was never very good at stopping something when someone told me to. I always preferred to find my own way. So I figured out the ups and downs of my life through trial and error and through a process of elimination. Some things I never lacked were curiousity and courage. If I was interested in something I would explore. I’d try something out and if I liked it I’s stick with it, if not, I’d move on. I never stopped acting the maggot! When I went to college, I acted the maggot and failed my first year exams in Spanish. I went to Spain that summer and acted the maggot with lots of crazy fun Spaniards in Seville and San Lucar de Barremeda and as a result, became quite fluent in Spanish within five weeks of acting the maggot. I came home. Did my repeat exams and got an honour. I was beginning to learn how beneficial it could be to actually act the maggot! I was learning that connecting with people and engaging with the world was important. #founderstory #backstory #throwbackthursday

Keep an eye out for our blog posts. #mindfulmonday, #testimonialtuesday, #Whatsonwednesday and #throwbackthursday @actthemaggot

Testimonial Tuesday Beginners’ Creativity for Adults

Beginners’ Creativity for Adults with Act The Maggot

“I want to get out of my comfort zone”

This is often the beginning of an email query from someone looking to book a course with Act The Maggot. In short Act The Maggot offers Beginners’ Creativity for Adults. Whether it is our signature beginners acting class our fun beginners creative writing class or our relaxing beginners pencil drawing class – there is one common denominator.

Beginners mind can lead to lasting change

People who rock up to Act The Maggot seek change. A change of scenery, a change or habit, a change of direction, a change of social life or indeed personal change. They are looking for beginners’ creativity for adults.

Testimonials

Act The Maggot took me to a place I haven’t been since I was a child. A place of pure joy. You meet great people from all walks of life and form firm friendships. I got to express myself in a way that I could never do in any conventional adult learning scenario and it made me feel like I was 10 feet tall. – Shane Lynam, Director, Elearn.ie

Shane first tried out the Beginners’ Acting and went on to complete our four levels of acting and appeared on stage with Act The Maggot several times. He also tried the creative writing class and he even wrote a short play for us. He also coaxed his then, girlfriend to try out the acting as well, and Catrina completed two levels with us. When those creative juices get going, there is no stopping us, folks.

All we need, is to give ourselves permission to play, find the right environment and surround ourselves with a supportive tribe. Shane is now engaged to be married and he and his fiancee Catrina have now moved out of Dublin. We miss them. We hope Shane and Catrina have found their new tribe in Ireland’s hidden heartlands and we wish them every happiness. I’ll finish our Testimonial Tuesday post with a quote from one of my all time favourite movies. Keep an eye out for our daily posts. Mindful Monday, Testimonial Tuesday, What’s on Wednesday, Throwback Thursday and Funny Friday.

You always had the power my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself. – Glinda, The Wizard of Oz.

Don’t be afraid to express your creative side and get in touch about Beginners’ Creativity for adults!

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Friday Night Improv

frimprovWe are delighted to announce the long-awaited return our Friday Night Improv sessions.

What is Friday Night Improv?

This is our improv playground where participants are invited to come and play lots of games and improv their hearts out. Basically to return and Act The Maggot! A fantastic way to dust off those cobwebs, get your imagination going and release the tensions of the week. A fun, irreverent and relaxed environment. It’s also a perfect excuse to catch up with your act the maggot pals from previous courses and have a social drink after. We also welcome improv fans who have tried out improv elsewhere and like the idea of coming a long to these drop in sessions.

Where does it happen?

These sessions will take place in Chapterhouse on Fridays from 7.30pm to 10pm. Limited places. So put those dates in your diary.

Who can take part?

These Friday Night Improv workshops are NOT for beginners. You should have taken our flaghship Beginners’ Acting class or at least taken one course in Improvisation either with us or with other Imrpov groups.

The Friday Night Improv dates are

Friday Sept 6, 2019 – 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Friday, Sept 20, 2019 – there will be no FrImprov as it’s Culture Night at Chapterhouse!! (Free classes – book here through Eventbite).

Friday, Oct 4, 2019- 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Fri, Oct 18, 2019- 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Fri Nov 1, 2019- 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Fri Nov 15, 2019- 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Fri Nov 29, 2019- 7.30-10pm €25/€20 for maggot graduates

Intern Opportunity *** There is a possibility for one intern to get these 6 classes for FREE if they promote it and show up 30 minutes early each time to prepare the room and set up & clear away teas/coffees. Get in touch if you’d like to interview for this position.

Look at our website, www.actthemaggot.com
Contact us at actthemaggot@gmail.com for more information or to book your place.

To find out more – follow us on social media platform of your choice – @actthemaggot

These are drop in sessions but do mail us. Cash payable at the door.

Beginners Creative Writing, Acting, Drawing – Newsletter

dotGreetings friends, followers and maggots (old, new and future),
We’ve had a crazy year with beginners creative writing, acting, drawing, mindfulness, public speaking, role-playing, team-building, moving all these classes to a new building and that’s not even mentioning all the actor showcases we produced! I’ve decided to write an annual round up of where we are, what we’ve been up to and what we have planned for 2019. Next Thursday, we will host our final Showcase of 2018 – the fruits of the long awaited Level 3 Scene Study class – and nerves are running high I can tell you! It’ll be a great night and a few beverages will be had afterwards at Christmas Drinks.

New Friday Night and Weekend plans 2019
In 2019, we will re-introduce the monthly Friday Night Improv sessions for seasoned maggots. We will also host a Mindfulness and Creativity weekend away retreat (March) as well as some really cool Saturday half day (€25) and all day (€50) workshops in Imrprovisation, Character, Casting, Audition technique, Mindfulness, Drawing, Short Story and Flash Fiction. Keep an eye on our website for info and social media links for all our super early bird offers.

New Internship Programme
internNext year we are introducing a new Internship programme. It’s fairly straight forward. In exchange for taking a free course you put up some posters and do social media as well as set up the rooms and complete 30 minutes of reception work each night of the course you sign up for. Click on this internship link and have a read and see what courses/dates interest you. As I write this, Internship 1 and 5 and possibly 3 have been snapped up. So there is one Tuesday(Internship 4) and one Thursday(Internship 2) still available!

Finalised Courses for 2019 – click on link for course that interests you
Beginners Acting Level 1 – Jan 31 to Mar 7, 2019
Beginners Acting Level 2 – Feb 7 to Mar 14, 2019
Beginners Acting Level 3 – Mar 28 to May 9, 2019
Beginners Acting Level 4 – devising a play – May 16 to June 27, 2019
(open to graduates of Level 3 and previous Level 4 maggots)
Effective Public Speaking – Mar 5 to Apr 9, 2019
Beginners Creative Writing – Mar 5 to Apr 9, 2019
Beginners Drawing – Mar 5 to Apr 9, 2019
There will be more Beginner Acting Level 1 throughout the year and more Drawing and Creative Writing and Public Speaking in September.

2018 Highlights
screen-shot-2018-11-30-at-10-20-49In 2018, we moved all our classes to Chapterhouse Education on Middle Abbey street which has been a great success and has enabled us to grow and develop new courses such as Level 4 Acting, Effective Public Speaking and a new level 2 Drawing class is in the works. We were also able to give something back for the first time ever on Culture Night 2018 – we flung open the doors and ran free classes all night – nearly 100 people tried it out! Watch this video we posted on Twitter about the free mindfulness session.

private-conversationspublic-transportIn June, we devised and wrote our very first play called Private Conversations Public Transport with the Level 4 group which was so much fun to do and was a really satisfying experience. We will run another Level 4 before the summer. With just 6 short weeks to improvise and come up with a show – the maggots really pulled out the stops and developed some hilarious characters and scenarios reflecting contemporary Dublin on the Luas. In fairness, they did lots of extra rehearsals to get it tight by the show date and I was extremely proud of their achievement. The audience response was brilliant.

Our tutors
In September, we bade farewell to Sarah Hone who now works for Ali Coffey casting. Any of you who are serious about getting commercial work, send a current headshot and CV out to her ASAP! We welcomed the brilliant Darren Yorke who is now over the Level 1 class and has been introducing maggots to all sorts of wonderful from his extensive improvisation knowledge having spent two years with a major Improv Troupe in Canada. We are really lucky to have him. Our creative writing tutor Niall McArdle won first prize in this year’s Penguin/RTE Guide Short Story competition and was shortlisted once again for the Hennessy Writers’ Competiton. Well done to him. Our drawing tutor Mahua LeMeur continues to turn out amazing work with ink and paint at her studio in Temple Bar and is busy developing a Level 2 class for next year.

Media and Corporate Developments
Act The Maggot was featured in the September 12 issue of the Dublin Inquirer – nice to get a mention and thanks to our maggots Shane and Irina who were interviewed. We also introduced a 20% discount corporate friends rate which has been taken up by many maggots who have recommended and introduced our team-builidng Improv, Mindfulness or Drawing sessions to their workplaces – yes – we want the whole country to experience the joy of Act The Maggot!

Mental Health
Act The Maggot is also thrilled to have won a tender for the second year running to design and deliver a 12-week course covering Drama, Movement and Creative Writing to DCU Recovery College. This a great new organisation operating in Dublin, Meath and Louth so if you know anyone struggling with mental health issues let them know about it. They run really varied courses all year round and they are virtually free. There are also opportunities to get involved with their talks or help put together their newsletter.

I’d like to thank you all for joining us, returning to us and for telling your friends and colleagues about us. We are nothing without your continued support and great “word of mouth”. Also, many thanks to Leanne Geaney for her support as our very first intern – who stayed with us so long she managed to complete three levels of Acting. We wish her the very best of luck.

hofeckinhoAs it’s Christmas – this is a shout out to a small, interesting new company called Trustwordie in Wexford designing the quirkiest cards ever. You can buy them online and their Christmas and New Year range are available now. You should definitely find something to make someone chuckle!

That’s all for now from Act The Maggot folks, if you got as far as here, you deserve a medal! Hope to see you at the Christmas Drinks. Have a cosy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
Warm regards,
Amy
xmas

“A day without laughter, is a day wasted.”

Charlie Chaplin

Evening classes all go on MiddleFab Street

eveningWhat a buzz we have created with our evening classes in town! We’ve been having a major maggoty Autumn on Middle Abbey street! There’s been heaps of new maggots and old ones breaking out of their comfort zones, exploring their creativity and generally having a super time in our evening classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our Tuesday night Public Speaking class has come on leaps and bounds and next week they will put their new skills to the test with full on speechifying. level2Our Thursday night Level 2 maggots took to the stage last week and did a fantastic job preparing and delivering an entertaining mix of serious and comedic monologues in front of a live audience. Our creative writers are scribbling away next door to the artists who are learning the rudiments of drawing and rumour has it some sort of collaboration between the two classes is emerging. screen-shot-2017-11-08-at-12-37-07See what happens when all these creative souls mingle? Last night a whole new crop of beginner maggots got together and hopefully those first night nerves have been put to bed forever and it’ll be plain sailing from here on in. We also began our Level 3 Scene Study class and finally cast everyone and had our first read through this week. Now this is one showcase that should not be missed – especially because we’ll be having our Act The Maggot annual Christmas drinks on the same night!

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”

[MovieMaker Magazine #53 – Winter, January 22, 2004 ]”
― Jim Jarmusch

Draw out the fun in yourself this Autumn

tootoot Act, Write or Draw! It’s playtime folks! Here’s your chance to tap into your inner maggot, er sorry your inner child. Have lots of fun trying out new hobbies or rekindling your love of old ones having let life get in the way. Our previous students from our Beginners Drawing, Beginners Creative Writing and Beginners Acting classes have lots to say about how Act The Maggot has impacted on their everyday lives, from feeling lighter, more creative, more social and even noticing these benefits while at work!

“Act the maggot took me to a place I haven’t been since I was a child. A place of pure joy. You meet great people from all walks of life and form firm friendships. I got to express myself in a way that I could never do in any conventional adult learning scenario and it made me feel like I was 10 feet tall.”
– Shane Lynam, Director, Elearn.ie
screen-shot-2017-11-08-at-12-37-32
So come try it out. It might be hard to get a place but we are worth that waiting list. What’s all the rage this Autumn is our new Drawing class and our consistently popular Creative Writing and Acting classes. All of them are geared towards the beginner.

“You spend so much time laughing that you don’t realise until the end of the course how much change has taken place and how much inhibition has been shed.”
– Grainne Daly, Enterprise ireland

If you’d like to know more about the story and genesis of Act The Maggot – read about it in the Dublin Inquirer. If you want to sign up for our next courses in Drawing, Creative Writing, Acting or Public Speaking please drop us an email to actthemaggot@gmail.com – you can see all the relevant info about each class on their links.

“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.” Shane Donohoe – former student.
wedding speech

Culture Night Madness

img_4446.jpgYes. It’s finally almost here. Culture Night is coming this Friday, September 21, 2018. We cannot wait. Act The Maggot is absolutely thrilled to be part of this amazing adventure @CultureNight We are offering free taster classes in beginners Drawing, Beginners Creative Writing, Beginners Improv and Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners. We are so excited to meet you all on Middle Abbey Street in Dublin! Culture Night has become a huge, national event and it reminds us of all the amazing experiences we can avail of right here in our cities and towns thanks to the tireless work of people who dedicate their lives to working in area of arts and culture. Go on, for Dubliners anyway, explore your city then yourself! Our Drawing classes are totally booked our but there are still some free spots left in Improv, Creative Writing or Mindfulness. Book here

Note: For those who come on the night, you will also have the opportunity to register on the night for our next batch of courses in Creative Writing, Drawing or Acting – all fun for the beginner!

Poetry, sizzling summer festivals and screenwriting!

billy-collinsI have revised my love for the American poet Billy Collins. Now I adore him. I’ve been working on a personal project this summer which has been consuming a lot of my attention. I am writing writing writing all the time but now I am dedicating my free time to learning the craft of screenwriting. I never forget my true love – poetry – the origin of all great writing and theatre. I’m feeling very fortunate to have stumbled upon the great teaching talent that is Mary Kate O Flanagan. Now there is a person who understands story on the screen. Discussing her work would require another post – or several – which I will get to. Here’s her own website if you are curious. Anyways, earlier in June, I was down at the Festival of Ideas and Writing in Borris, Co. Carlow and I was over the moon the finally hear and see and eventually meet the great poet Billy Collins. As I have most recently been studying story structure his poem Aristotle is so fitting. Have a read.

Aristotle by Billy Collins

This is the beginning.
Almost anything can happen.
This is where you find
the creation of light, a fish wriggling onto land,
the first word of Paradise Lost on an empty page.
Think of an egg, the letter A,
a woman ironing on a bare stage
as the heavy curtain rises.
This is the very beginning.
The first-person narrator introduces himself,
tells us about his lineage.
The mezzo-soprano stands in the wings.
Here the climbers are studying a map
or pulling on their long woolen socks.
This is early on, years before the Ark, dawn.
The profile of an animal is being smeared
on the wall of a cave,
and you have not yet learned to crawl.
This is the opening, the gambit,
a pawn moving forward an inch.
This is your first night with her,
your first night without her.
This is the first part
where the wheels begin to turn,
where the elevator begins its ascent,
before the doors lurch apart.
This is the middle.
Things have had time to get complicated,
messy, really. Nothing is simple anymore.
Cities have sprouted up along the rivers
teeming with people at cross-purposes—
a million schemes, a million wild looks.
Disappointment unshoulders his knapsack
here and pitches his ragged tent.
This is the sticky part where the plot congeals,
where the action suddenly reverses
or swerves off in an outrageous direction.
Here the narrator devotes a long paragraph
to why Miriam does not want Edward’s child.
Someone hides a letter under a pillow.
Here the aria rises to a pitch,
a song of betrayal, salted with revenge.
And the climbing party is stuck on a ledge
halfway up the mountain.
This is the bridge, the painful modulation.
This is the thick of things.
So much is crowded into the middle—
the guitars of Spain, piles of ripe avocados,
Russian uniforms, noisy parties,
lakeside kisses, arguments heard through a wall—
too much to name, too much to think about.
And this is the end,
the car running out of road,
the river losing its name in an ocean,
the long nose of the photographed horse
touching the white electronic line.
This is the colophon, the last elephant in the parade,
the empty wheelchair,
and pigeons floating down in the evening.
Here the stage is littered with bodies,
the narrator leads the characters to their cells,
and the climbers are in their graves.
It is me hitting the period
and you closing the book.
It is Sylvia Plath in the kitchen
and St. Clement with an anchor around his neck.
This is the final bit
thinning away to nothing.
This is the end, according to Aristotle,
what we have all been waiting for,
what everything comes down to,
the destination we cannot help imagining,
a streak of light in the sky,
a hat on a peg, and outside the cabin, falling leaves.
Our next beginners creative writing class begins on September 25, 2018. Read more about it.

The act of writing by hand engenders true mindfulness

quote1-w“The Creative Writing course with Act the Maggot opened my mind to the world of words. I have always written creatively and this course made my writing better and gave me a better sense of what and how I write. Thanks to the teacher, we were able to explore the art of writing and poetry in depth. ”
Testimonial from Marluce Lima, student from January 2018 group

The following is an extract from an interesting article published in Forbes Magazine proposing an argument that writing with pen and paper in longhand is a powerful tool for learning, relaxation creativity and connection.

Stephen King purportedly wrote Dreamcatcher in longhand — using a Waterman cartridge pen. J. K. Rowling penned The Tales of Beedle the Bard — all 157 pages of it — in longhand, and the leather-bound tome sold for almost $4M at auction. F. Scott Fitzgerald did it, as did Hemingway, Kafka and countless others, each of whom had access to either a typewriter or, later, a computer. They all chose to put pen to paper and see where it took them. This is perhaps the true magic of a pen: It transports us to unexpected places, on wings that require no more than a timely shot of ink to keep them aloft, destination unknown. And in the process, the mindfulness writing engenders encourages calm and creativity. Here are three proven ways that handwriting is good for your brain…

1. Handwriting increases neural activity in certain sections of the brain, similar to meditation. According to a study performed at the Indiana University, the mere action of writing by hand unleashes creativity not easily accessed in any other way. And high-tech magnetic resonance imaging has indeed shown that low-tech writing by hand increases neural activity in certain sections of the brain much like meditation.

2. Handwriting sharpens the brain and helps us learn. Writing is good for keeping one’s grey matter sharp and may even influence how we think, as in “more positively,” studies show. Apparently sequential hand movements, like those used in handwriting, activate large regions of the brain responsible for thinking, language, healing and working memory.

3. Handwriting forces us to slow down and smell the ink. Another often-overlooked benefit of writing by hand is that it just plain forces us to slow down and enjoy the moment — a novelty in today’s world where immediacy reigns. Mindful writing rests the brain, potentially sparking creativity, according to neuroscientist, Dr. Claudia Aguirre.

Want to try it out? Book your spot today on our next six-week Creative Writing class aimed at beginners. It starts on Tuesday, April 17th. You will cover character, plot, structure, poetry and do lots of writing exercises in class. It’s guaranteed to have you scribbling your way through Spring! Read about our course here. Drop us a line – actthemaggot@gmail.com if you wish to book or if you want to ask any questions.

 

Sunday Selection: Poetry

caduffy

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer

Some days, although we cannot pray, a prayer
utters itself. So, a woman will lift
her head from the sieve of her hands and stare
at the minims sung by a tree, a sudden gift.

Some nights, although we are faithless, the truth
enters our hearts, that small familiar pain;
then a man will stand stock-still, hearing his youth
in the distant Latin chanting of a train.

Pray for us now. Grade 1 piano scales
console the lodger looking out across
a Midlands town. Then dusk, and someone calls
a child’s name as though they named their loss.

Darkness outside. Inside, the radio’s prayer –
Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre.

by Carol Ann Duffy

image: Carol Ann Duffy/bbc.co.uk