We were lucky to catch up with Timothy Davis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Timothy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

There have been so many! I’ll go with what I just finished up. Most recently I was acting in the world premiere play Overactive Letdown at Theatre Lab in Boca Raton. The play explores and shines a light on postpartum psychosis, a severe form of peri-natal mental illness. It is funny, imaginative, and heart-wrenching and was a joy to create with my fellow collaborators. Next up, I’m producing Water by the Spoonful with New City Players at Island City Stage in Wilton Manors. The play explores addiction and recovery and is a truly beautiful piece. What makes a project most meaningful to me is three elements:

1) It’s artistically challenging. This means I’m not totally sure I’m up for the task and each day of work requires me to take some risks and feel a little embarrassed.

2) I love my collaborators. When we are having fun and all working toward the same goal I’m in my sweet spot. I love to work hard and play hard sometimes within the same 30 seconds! When you are connecting with the people you’re collaborating with as both humans and fellow artists it brings a greater sense of meaning to the work.

3) The work itself contains a message that is underrepresented, unknown, culturally relevant, and impactful. We can do better as a society when it comes to caring for new mothers and de-stigmatizing things like postpartum depression, anxiety, and psychosis. Rather than load up new families with unrealistic expectations, we should be aware and sensitive to their psychological and physical needs and approach them with empathy. We can do better with those in our community facing substance use disorder. Stories humanize issues. That’s what I’m in the business of.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Cliche time! My purpose in life is to tell stories in theatre and film as a producer, actor, director, and sometimes writer. My work and artistic interests spread across three storytelling “divisions” I guess you could say.

1) The theatre. My first love where I fell in love with acting and subsequently producing and directing. I’m the Producing Artistic Director for New City Players, a Fort Lauderdale based ensemble theatre company whose mission is to create community through transformative theatre. Every year we produce 2-3 live theatrical productions and host multiple community events. If you are looking for an arts group who wants to see South Florida become a more thoughtful and empathetic community…come check us out! In addition to leading New City Players, I occasionally act in other productions in the region.

2) Filmmaking. A more recent passion of mine, but one I am eager to develop. In the past couple years I’ve directed 2 short films and 1 feature film. I wrote and directed a short film called “The Leap” for the Miami/Fort Lauderdale 48 Hour FIlm Project. The film is about humanity discovering that it can time travel through a psychologically induced process. Our film won the competition and received awards for best director and best actress. I’ll be releasing that film this year some time (you can actually catch the short and me at the upcoming Business for the Arts of Broward Art & Stroll on May 19). I also co-wrote and co-directed a feature film last year called “Thank You, Places!” that is currently in post-production. I’m hoping to enter it into the festival circuit later this year.

3) Commercial Video Production. In addition to my own creative work I also enjoy helping businesses clarify their messaging and tell great stories through videos. This is where my company Stone Circle Media comes in. We produce videos for small and medium size businesses and non-profits. If you want cinematic storytelling (whether that’s dramatic or comedic) to be a part of your company’s brand, hit us up.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Research and patron local arts organizations that interest you. Watch and promote independent films. Hire artists to do creative work for you when needed. Lobby at the government level for greater financial support and tax incentives.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni introduced me to the 3 virtues that my theatre company works to live by: humble, hungry, smart.

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown breaks down leadership in a way that is daunting and inspiring.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.timothymarkdavis.com
• Instagram: @timothymarkdavis
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothymarkdavis/
• Twitter: @timothymarkdav

Image Credits
Ryan Arnst Morgan Sophia Parker