What a fun night we had with the beginner actors who are beginners no more! After successfully finishing Level 1 – a six week course for absolute beginners, they completed five weeks of Level 2 and took to the stage last night. For most of them, it was their first time ever in front of a live audience. They were all very chuffed and rightly so. Celebratory drinks went down well after. What a buzz. Well done all.
So we are in Dublin. It’s not Hollywood, Bollywood nor Nollywood – but there are tons of film and television production companies based here and even more directors and producers on the hunt for new material. And one thing we do well in this town is tell a story. People come to Dublin from all over the world to celebrate writers and storytellers and that’s not just in the bars and nightclubs! Yes, what we believe at Act The Maggot is that, with a clear focus and some work, your screen dreams can be realised. In the film world, your short film is your calling card. You can make it yourself with a bunch of friends on a shoestring budget. Hell, you can make it on your phone. You can apply for the RTE Filmbase Short Shots annual competition and if you win that, you can get it made with funding. You have to start somewhere, but you must start with a script. In six short weeks acting the maggot, you can complete your first short film script and get a feel for the whole area. There is enormous pleasure in finishing a written project. In the beginning was the word….Seriously, emerging filmmakers often make the mistake of not spending enough time on the script. The script is all. It’s the blueprint for your film. The road map. So many production details can be ironed out or solved if the script is tight and economical. If you want to read more, take a look at our website and consider signing up for our next six-week course in Temple Bar.
1. 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
Both 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.
Role-playing is a fantastic tool to use in company trainings. You can really maximise the experience and the learning by hiring real-life actors to energise challenging team work. We all have to face difficult conversations, tough meetings, unexpected situations. Why not hire a couple of professional actors to re-enact a specific work-related script? Then, in Forum Theatre style the actors can stop and start at the suggestion of the participants to find the best communication solutions. It can be a lot of fun as it is interactive learning. By having real actors as part of a training it immediately breaks the ice and ups the stakes. We can help you with your script too if you like. For more information on this programme, call Amy on 01-496 7021 or 087 374 4926 or email actthemaggot@gmail.com
TESTIMONIALS from Performance Management Workshops with our role-players and European Managers at Elavon Inc.
“Actors were fantastic. They took each scenario to the extreme allowing us to learn what to do or say, and maybe
more importantly, what not to do or say. Very effective.”
“Excellent. Helped drive the role play conversations and brought a different dimension that may not have been possible with Elavon-only participation.”
“While I have attended similar training in my previous work experience, the positive difference made in this one was particularly down to having actors to practise with. This ensured more life-like scenarios, occasional unpredictability of employee-manager interaction. Also, the focus on role play was helpful, rather than spending more time on theory slides. It all comes down to having these live conversations, so more opportunity we have to play them out in a safe environment, the better and more beneficial it is for us.”
“I found them great, I love acting and role playing so it was to my strength! I will also comment, that the fact that they didn’t force anyone to roleplay was fantastic, it means a very relaxed environment.”
“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
Yesterday, I received this beautiful sunflower from my students and one of them brought in this poem by Mary Oliver which I asked her to read aloud for us.
Come with me
into the field of sunflowers.
Their faces are burnished disks,
their dry spines
creak like ship masts,
their green leaves,
so heavy and many,
fill all day with the sticky
sugars of the sun.
Come with me
to visit the sunflowers,
they are shy
but want to be friends;
they have wonderful stories
of when they were young –
the important weather,
the wandering crows.
Don’t be afraid
to ask them questions!
Their bright faces,
which follow the sun,
will listen, and all
those rows of seeds –
each one a new life!
hope for a deeper acquaintance;
each of them, though it stands
in a crowd of many,
like a separate universe,
is lonely, the long work
of turning their lives
into a celebration
is not easy. Come
and let us talk with those modest faces,
the simple garments of leaves,
the coarse roots in the earth
so uprightly burning.
It was so appropriate for our group. I finished facilitating an experimental course with them where they played with drama, movement and creative writing and last week, I finished a drama course in Navan for the same organisation. Recovery College is a new venture and for me, working with them – has been an enriching, enlightening and very rewarding experience. I was given free reign to do what I do – design and facilitate course modules that are useful and empowering for adults working on their own recovery from mental health distress. It is encouraging to see people smile and have fun and feel safe while exploring their creativity despite what life has thrown at them. The power and support in these groups is inspiring. I wish them all the very best. Many thanks to the tireless efforts of Recovery College who are working so hard to provide much needed peer-led courses in this area. If you have an interest in mental health, work in mental health or have had mental health distress in your life, contact them and see if what they are offering this Autumn is up your alley. Most of the courses are on during the day.
“I absolutely loved every second of it and the teacher was amazing.”
“Exceeded expectations! The teacher was very good at creating a safe space and was very encouraging all the way through. Amazing positive energy!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Such an amazing teacher and the rest of the class were great fun and very supportive.”
“Very enjoyable. Activities are multiple and various. There is no boring time! I liked it.”
“It was wonderful. So many games to play, so many moments where you could try things out you would never do in normal life. The teacher was so kind, motivating and fun. The group was friendly, tolerant and supporting all the time. We became closer and closer with each session, just because we shared one passion: Escape yourself for two hours and feel as free as a child again.”
If you are interested in joining our next beginners acting class contact us at actthemaggot@gmail.com or 087 3744926 and we will see if there is a place for you.
Grab your place while you can. Our final Beginner’s Acting class before the summer break starts next week. There are still a few places left so give us a bell or an email to guarantee six weeks of silliness and laughter for yourself. Hurry. It books out every time! Yeah, get out and about! Sure, what else would you be doing with those long summer evenings, except acting the maggot? Read some of the testimonials to help make up your mind.
Worth pondering over these thoughts from 85-year old Nadine Stair when she was asked this very question.
If I had my life to live over again,
I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax.
I’d limber up.
I’d be sillier than I’ve been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances,
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would, perhaps, have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones.
you see, I’m one of those people who was sensible and sane,
hour after hour,
day after day.
Oh, I’ve had my moments.
If I had to do it over again,
I’d have more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else- just moments,
one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.
I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I could do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.
If I had to live my life over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances,
I would ride more merry-go-rounds,
I would pick more daisies.
– Nadine Stair
Also worth having a read of what Mrs. Mindfulness has to say about slowing down. She thinks we all ought to hurry up and slow down!