What’s on Wednesday? EP Reunion Party Performing!

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Act The Maggot

0-2 Culturehead wants you! It’s official, we are approaching winter. And with that comes great opportunities to stay warm huddling in bars and clubs and having the craic. #WhatsonWednesday we pick out one unmissable thing to do this week. So here goes for this week #whatsonwednesday says @actthemaggot Culturehead PR agency is throwing a bash, get down there. Everyone is welcome. They run ArtLot at the Electric Picnic every year and this weekend will be their EP Reunion Party with a fantastic line up of bands and performers. Read the following info from their latest insta post:

*****ArtLot Electric Picnic reunion party***** ‪This Saturday, October 19th, 8 pm, Bloody Mary’s, @‬bloodymarys_southwilliam ‪7 South William Street. ‬🤡 Four of our absolute favourite bands, to play the ArtLot this year, will be taking to the stage followed by the awesome Sharpson @sharpsonmusic who will be banging out the tunes until late…

Performing 👉Eoin Maher: @eoinmaherofficial

rocked our stage at Electric Picnic this year, and we are delighted to have him back to play our Reunion. Eoin has been gigging for 3 years and has had the opportunity to support the incredible MUNDY. He’s right in the middle of recording his debut single which will be released soon.

Performing 👉Square 1: @square1bandofficial

is a Carlow based indie band. Their musical influences include Queen, Stevie Wonder, Hozier, Radiohead, Vulfpeck and many more, with their performance style originating from Drag culture and Rock/indie bands such as IDLES and Otherkin. Having wowed at this year’s Artlot stage they are sure to be back with a bang at the EP Reunion!

Performing 👉CALVIN HYNES: @calvinhyness

is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter that developed his sound busking on the streets of Dublin since he was 13. He is currently recording his debut self-titled EP and will be releasing this in early 2020.

Performeing 👉RÓ CONNOLLY: @ro.connolly

Headlining our Electric Picnic Reunion Party this week is Singer-Songwriter, Rónán Connolly, who has spent the last year making a name for himself in the Dublin music scene, playing venues across the city and most recently making two appearances at Electric Picnic 2019 for his festival debut. His style blends a mix of classic-meets-indie rock with influences including Velvet Underground, Elliot Smith, and Kaleo. The Dubliner released his first single, ‘Tattoos’ in October 2018 as a demo and has just finished recording two new singles, the first of which, ‘Between the Trees’ is due for release on all major platforms ‪on October 23rd‬.
#artlotep 📷: @ri__cannon

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

Testimonial Tuesday Beginners’ Creativity for Adults

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Act The Maggot

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!

Friday Night Improv

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Act The Maggot

frimprov We 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.

Evening classes all go on MiddleFab Street

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Act The Maggot

evening What 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. level2 Our 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-12-37-07 See 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

Poetry, sizzling summer festivals and screenwriting!

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Act The Maggot

billy-collins I 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.

Book into next Beginners Acting. Hurry!

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Act The Maggot

tootoot Email us at actthemaggot@gmail.com or call/text 087 3744926 if you want to join our next class starting May 10th. Read more here. You can take an acting class at any stage of your life. Whether you are eighteen or fifty-eight! The benefits are enormous. Get out of your comfort zone and have fun this summer with our flagship Beginners’ Acting class in city centre! Every week for six weeks, join a bunch of like-minded people and have heaps of laughs tapping into your creativity in ways you have totally forgotten. Most people say it’s such a tonic allowing yourself to play and have craic in a safe, respectful environment. There are only two more courses running before we take our summer break. The next course starts next Thursday, May 10th and runs until June 14th! After that there will be one final course starting on June 28th and finishing up on August 2.

Here are just some of the comments from previous maggots.

“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

“I signed up to Act the Maggot to try something a bit different, I wanted to venture into the wilderness beyond my comfort zone but I soon found that I was totally comfortable outside of my comfort-zone. Act the Maggot just expands your comfort zone so that’s all there is. Classes like this are only ever as good as the person running them – luckily Amy is super fun, a master at her craft and really down-to-earth. She has a way of getting you to do things you wouldn’t usually do and she does it in such a way that it’s not scary at all. Everyone in the class was really friendly and willing to throw themselves into the thick of it. If you’re looking for a lot of laughs and a weekly holiday from reality this course will be perfect for you!”
– Alice Walsh, Librarian, Getty Images

“I would highly recommend the course to anyone who is looking to get an enjoyably informative and casual introduction to acting! Act the Maggot gives you a little taste of acting and public speaking while working as a medium through which you can meet some really interesting and really nice people that you would never meet otherwise! It definitely left me dying to try the next class and see what else Act the Maggot has to offer!”
– Sharon Moorhouse, TV3

Email us at actthemaggot@gmail.com or call/text 087 3744926

Beginners Acting class go on stage for first time!

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Act The Maggot

lev2-may3 They knocked it out of the park! Yes. Our Level 2 Acting class took their polished monologues to the stage last night to a rapt and appreciative audience. They had shown up to class and worked consistently over the past five weeks and that imagination and effort definitely paid off. It was hard to believe that for most of them, it was their very first time to perform in front of a live audience. Although their hearts were all rattling around inside their chests – the audience was none the wiser – they got rounded characters with great stories to tell. Well done all. We were sorry that a number of classmates, due to work or health issues were not able to take part in the showcase. They were missed. They can always hop onto the September Level 2 class. It is wonderful to watch the transformation of these students. They arrive as complete beginners. Most of them start out even a little intimidated or shy! Yes. Hard to believe. But the metamorphosis that takes place is beautiful to see. The foundation of the six week Beginners Acting class has given them a clear understanding of what is expected in order to work towards a first time performance. Then in just five short weeks they get themselves ready to take the stage with a memorised and fully rehearsed character. Really well done to all of them. The audience feedback was excellent. Definitely looking forward to seeing how these maggots develop in Level 3. If you think acting is something you might like to try, get in touch. Maggots come for a myriad of reasons. Some sign up to learn the rudiments of acting, others join us to develop confidence for public speaking engagements, others for the social aspect. One thing is for sure, that everyone comes to laugh and act the maggot once a week for a few hours. Take a look around the website and read our testimonials

If you’ve got any questions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line at acthemaggot@gmail.com.

Friday Pick: HOME at The New Theatre Jan 23 to Feb 3, 2018

Aside

New play HOME kicks off The New Theatre’s spring season of new work by female playwrights.

The play is centred around the trial of Anna Kelly, a first year college student who finds herself in court for allegedly defying an injunction put in place to prevent her from having for an abortion. The audience act as jury and vote on the outcome of the trial, deciding the end of the play and Anna’s fate.

HOME was inspired by the urge to explore what consent means in regard to Irish law, and the legal risk associated with seeking an abortion in Ireland. The audience are given a rare opportunity to interrogate what can often be considered the “grey areas” of consent and abortion law in Ireland in light of where the law stands in relation to these topics. The play is certainly topical, given the weight the recent #metoo campaign has carried in the media and the Dáil who are about to resume session to finalise plans for the Eighth Amendment referendum in 2018.

Preview Jan 22nd 7.30pm // Jan 23rd – Feb 3rd at 7.30pm

Anna is a first year college student who is on trial for allegedly defying an injunction put in place to stop her continuing with her plans to have an abortion. It is now time for you, the jury; to listen to the facts of the case and decide the verdict.

Imagine you’re a fresher. Newly single in the big city, you’re mad for two things: The Sesh and Tinder. Now imagine waking up with no recollection of the night before and your Tinder date is creeping out of your room because he thinks you are still asleep.

With over 60 Scenes, 10 Characters, 4 Actors and a verdict to decide, HOME will have you fighting to be on jury duty.

First presented as a work in progress at the Scene + Heard festival in February 2017, Megan O’ Malley’s new play HOME is an exploration into what happens when the authorities get involved in the often-regarded “grey areas” of consent and abortion law in Ireland. HOME puts the verdict in the audience’s hands, giving you the opportunity to anonymously vote on Anna’s fate after being presented with both sides of the case.

HOME is written by Megan O’ Malley, a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting’s full time course, and current MA in Theatre Practice student in UCD. Megan performs the role of Anna in HOME. As an actor, Megan has worked with Smashing Times Theatre Company on Women in 1916, starred in Kerry Gold’s TV commercial, was awarded the Gaiety Bursary and the F.A.B. bursary award for Best Actress 16-21. As a writer, Megan was the first in the school’s history to premier her own work ‘MJ’ for the GSA graduation industry showcase. She also worked alongside Paul Meade for her Manifesto piece The Mourning Seat. From there Megan worked with Paul Meade over 2016 in developing her idea for HOME. Director Fiona Frawley is a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting and an MA in Advanced Theatre Practice (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama). She has cowrote, and performed in shows such as That’s So 90’s (2017), and Welcome to Sidebank (2017) in London and Beauty Queen Dreams (2016) in Dublin.

HOME is performed by

Megan O’ Malley

Gordon Quigley

Ethan Dillon

Gemma Kane

Directed by Fiona Frawley

Produced by Kelley Gissane

Lighting Design by Shane Gill

Set Design by Áine O’ Hara

Stage managed by Megan Lynch

BOOKING INFO

The New Theatre

email: info@thenewtheatre.com telephone: +353 (0)1 670 3361

Improv can change your life

Posted on December 30, 2017 by Act The Maggot

Spotted a great article recently in the Guardian newspaper about the power of Improv to help fight anxiety and build confidence. Perhaps 2018 will be your year to move outside your comfort zone and try a beginner’s acting class. Our beginner’s acting class teaches you the rudiments of improvisation. We create a fun, supportive environment where participants can learn to truly act the maggot! No-one is judging and everyone spurs one another on. Here are some of the latest testimonials:

“Act the Maggot was a wonderful addition to my week. I enjoyed every class and learned a lot as I let my creative side free. Thank you.”

“I was very satisfied with the level 1 acting course. It had what I was hoping for – taking me outside of my comfort zone, meeting fun people and having the craic.”

“Enlightening”

“It was fantastic, really well spread out and the increase in difficulty each week was great as it really took me out of my comfort zone.”

“It was brilliant. Fun and learned lots.”

“Enjoyed the experience, meeting lovely people in a playful environment.”

There are still places available on our end of January course. Contact us with any queries – actthemaggot@gmail.com – If you don’t think acting is your bag you can always sign up for our fun creative writing or drawing courses. All of our six week courses take place in Dublin city centre on Middle Abbey Street.

Read fresh testimonials! Join us in 2018

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Act The Maggot