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!

quote1-w“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

quote4-wTempted 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

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!

Where to see great Short Films?

fadeinThe 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.

Read the latest testimonials for beginners’ acting classes

ComfortStill thinking about signing up for the next Beginners’ Acting class starting on March 23 in Temple Bar? Have a read. The latest testimonials are in from the January class – thank you maggots! Looking forward to meeting the same bunch of mad maggots in the Level 2 class.

“I really enjoyed it, it took me out of my comfort soon on so many levels. It is exactly what the name suggests and you definitely act the maggot!”

“Loved every minute of it from start to finish. Amy is a great teacher and I learned loads while havin fun at the same time. Would highly recommend to anyone even toying with joining a beginners acting class. Sign yourself up and put yourself out there. You might just surprise yourself!”

“I was surprised at how well I did on the spot. It gave me back some trust in myself. We’re so used to mentally preparing things but sometimes the best things come naturally and spontaneously and that’s what I found with Act The Maggot. I also made good friends in the course, as it’s an interesting experience to share with people and you get to know someone on a level that we usually don’t know people. Overall good experience.”

“Really got me out of my comfort zone, people were amazing, haven’t laughed so much in years!”

Contact us at actthemaggot@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Wednesday Poem

ADVICE TO WRITERS

Even if it keeps you up all night,
wash down the walls and scrub the floor
of your study before composing a syllable.

Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way.
Spotlessness is the niece of inspiration.

The more you clean, the more brilliant
your writing will be, so do not hesitate to take
to the open fields to scour the undersides
of rocks or swab in the dark forest
upper branches, nests full of eggs.

When you find your way back home
and stow the sponges and brushes under the sink,
you will behold in the light of dawn
the immaculate altar of your desk,
a clean surface in the middle of a clean world.

From a small vase, sparkling blue, lift
a yellow pencil, the sharpest of the bouquet,
and cover the pages with tiny sentences
like long rows of devoted ants
that followed you in from the woods.

Billy Collins

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.

Learn to draw in relaxed surroundings?

lecorbusierAct The Maggot is delighted to offer a brand new Drawing for Beginners class this Spring. Want to learn the basics of drawing? Chill out and have fun in a beautiful room with no distractions, just pencil and paper. Sketch away in good company. Good for the head and the heart. Join us on Tuesday nights in Temple Bar, 7.30-9.30pm – April 25th to May 30th (€180). Limited places. actthemaggot@gmail.com to book your spot.