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!
The 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.
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
Well 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.
Act 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.
Act The Maggot is thrilled to announce a new departure in our creative writing department. We are offering a brand new six-week course in Screenwriting at the end of April. This course is designed for the film and TV buffs among you. It is specifically aimed at those of you who have never tried it before. Here’s a thing. Imagine how alarming it might be if you did the maths on how many hours you actually spend watching feature films, short films, sketch comedy and episodes of TV shows per week. Content is everywhere now. We cannot avoid it. All is not lost, though. Let’s throw our oars in and make our own content. Let’s put those hours to good use and get creative. Imagine how much you have already learned about character and plot without really thinking about it. Yup. It’s time to tell the stories that you want to see up there on the screen.
Newsflash. Act The Maggot is offering a bunch of new, fun evening classes at the end of March and after Easter, 2017. Take a look around if you are interested in Creative Writing, Beginners’ Acting or try our brand new Introduction to Screenwriting. Also, if you have some acting experience already and fancy getting up on stage, consider joining our Improvers Acting class where you can focus your energies on a character and work on a monologue for performance. Later in the Spring, we will be introducing a new Acting – Level 3 class and a fun Drawing for Beginners class. There is also talk of a Creativity Retreat somewhere beautiful in Ireland. C’mon join the Maggot Machine! Keep your eyes peeled for our posters about town and on our Twitter and Facebook feeds for more news and info on creative happenings in Dublin and beyond. Happy Weekend. Read our testimonials to help make your decision.
Casting for Student Short Film
Hally: Female: late 30s: detective
Jack: Male: late 30s: detective
Malcolm: Male: 20s: murder suspect
Therese: Female: 20s: murder suspect
It’s for a short that will be filmed on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March in Dublin. It’s a detective drama with practically all the scenes taking place in an interrogation style room.
The auditions are taking place on Wednesday 15th February from 6.30-9pm in Pulse College, 20 Ringsend Road (opposite the Maxol Station), Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 4.
For further enquiries, contact Emma: emmajackson1985@hotmail.com
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
So we are almost ready for lift off with the 2017 maggot machine and we are excited about the numbers and variety of people signing up so far. There are a few remaining places on next Thursday’s Beginner’s Acting class and the following Tuesday’s Creative Writing class. Read up on us and take a look at the testimonials to inform your choice. Each course is six weeks only and costs €180. Send us a mail to actthemaggot@gmail.com if you want to hop aboard.