A Wry Look at Christmas Rituals

Public Domain Image

#DidYouKnow...

The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th Century, where little pictures were hung up on the wall - one for each day in December - or  chalk strokes were painted on a door, one per day until Christmas Eve.

Other early styles were the Adventclock or the Adventcandle - a candle for each of the 24 days until Christmas.

So why have I started Maggie's MADVENT Calendar?

***

 

Even though I have performed, directed, mentored, taught drama/comedy/public speaking, and owned a theatre business - I am always aiming to push myself, break boundaries, and challenge my 'comfort zone'.

So what does my sudden desire to jump feet-first into producing small vlog-style videos on the run-up to Christmas, have to do with any of this?

You may be surprised to learn that even I hesitate when trying something new - yes - it's true.

How funny, you may think, that as a comedy coach - someone who encourages others to release inhibitions - at times, suffers from good old fashioned IMPOSTER SYNDROME, or ELF DOUBT... I mean Self doubt ;)

Maggie's MADVENT is my own take - a wry look at the rituals of Christmas - but also it's about acknowledging how we sentimentally peek back at the year almost passed, and why we anticipate the New Year as being 'the year' that we effect positive changes.

Twenty seconds or so, of each MADVENT Calendar is centered around how I view the festivities; you may be astonished (or not) to know that these short excerpts of footage have taken on average between 15 seconds to a few hours of 'on and off' filming - with each one being re-run for improvements to lighting, dialogue, character - action.

It has been fun... and I do love being creative... but it has also been an enormous learning experience - who knew how difficult it could be to make such a short piece of film fit the vision you had for it?

Well let me tell you, in my head I had all these wondrous ideas that played out like clockwork; in reality, I have found that it takes time and effort, patience and MORE patience - back-up plans, props by the bucket load, and more trips to the fridge to grab wine than I ever thought was possible!

A big thank you to those who have helped: Danl, Carole and Mike.

In short, Maggie the Clown has been at my house many times over the last couple of weeks!

What has struck me the most while filming over and over, is just how important it is to be kind to yourself when trying new things; it's the most significant reason. When I teach stand up, or comedy writing/performing, I try to make participants feel safe, supported and appreciated for just how brave and amazing they are.

Some of the most profound things that I have re-discovered and had to remind myself of, and is something that I tell everyone who comes to my courses and classes, is this: aiming for perfection is fine - being perfect, or producing perfect work is not the most important thing. Having a go, letting go, enjoying yourself is the purpose of releasing boundaries. We never stop learning - ever, and it's totally okay to fail along the way if you don't beat yourself up too much!