If any South Floridians want to enjoy a truly unique cultural experience this weekend, they shouldn’t look any further than a multidisciplinary arts showcase known as “Make The Leap” This night of film, poetry, and music will commence at 7:30 this evening at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, and, thanks to the generous support of Broward County Cultural Division and Pompano Beach Arts, your attendance will be 100 percent free!
The event was organized by Timothy Mark Davis, who local theatregoers may be familiar with as the leading force behind New City Players or from his acting work throughout the area. Davis is also an experienced filmmaker, and his initial inspiration for the project came from a short film entitled The Leap, of which he served as writer and director.
Originally produced for 2021’s 48 Hour Film Project, The Leap was there awarded the titles of Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actress, and later went on to be named Screenhouse Miami’s Best Film of 2023. Yet Davis’s vision of a more connected community has never stopped at his own success—which led him to conceive of a way he could use the film to inspire other area creatives.
The way he devised to do so was through a process he described as a kind of “artistic telephone.” First, he asked one poet, one songwriter, and one painter to use the film as the inspiration for three original works in their respective discipline. Then, he enlisted three more area artists to create three more new works inspired by this “first round” of new creations. This cycle was then repeated one last time, making for a total of nine new works by nine different artists that will be showcased at Make The Leap along with The Leap itself.
These will include three new paintings by visual artists Louiveste La Croix (“Loui V”), Manzi Liu, and Leonardo Montoya, three new songs by musicians Inez Barlatier, Alex Joyel and Patrick Monty, and two original poems to be performed by Darius Daughtry and Sharonda “Eccentrich” Richardson. Last but not least, fans of my reviews might be pleased to learn that the last work on display will be a new short play by none other than myself (Ilana Jael,) and I’ve enlisted two of my most talented theatre pals (Casey Sacco and Arlette Del Toro) to serve as its stars!
Finally, if you weren’t already getting excited to view the results of this bold artistic experiment, you’ll even get to enjoy some small bites and sweet treats afterwards as part of the deal! At this post-show reception, attendees will be encouraged to mingle with one another and will also be given a chance to create their own original artwork, inspired by those they’ve experienced over the course of the evening.
So, if you want to support some incredible local artists, get a chance to connect to other community creatives, and maybe even get some inspiration for your next masterpiece in-the-making, don’t miss your only opportunity to Make The Leap tonight and tonight only at the Pompano Beach Cultural Arts Center!
