{"id":21912,"date":"2024-04-26T03:23:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T07:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/?p=21912"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:40:33","slug":"spotlight-on-talent-prospect-lefferts-gardens-showcases-local-artistry-in-vibrant-7-7-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/spotlight-on-talent-prospect-lefferts-gardens-showcases-local-artistry-in-vibrant-7-7-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight on Talent: Prospect Lefferts Gardens Showcases Local Artistry in Vibrant ‘7 7’ Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Shenal Tissera<\/a><\/p>\n

On a recent spring weeknight, Brooklynites\u00a0gathered in a backyard, not knowing what to expect. In the end, there was singing, dancing, comedy, poetry, community discourse and even fire throwing at a gathering dubbed the 7 7. It’s easy enough to remember: seven people perform for seven minutes at 7pm on the 7th, 17th and 27th of every month at a local venue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.<\/p>\n

With no theme or agenda, every\u00a07 7 show\u00a0<\/a>brings a distinct experience\u00a0guided by the seven performers that show up on any given night. For those seven minutes, the floor is open for anyone to share whatever it is they desire. Recite a haiku, talk politics, play the didgeridoo or just sip on a beer and take in the local voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not church, but we meet regularly. It\u2019s not an immediate family but we all love each other and know each other. There\u2019s a certain uniqueness to it,\u201d said Miles E. McAfee, the creator and host of\u00a0the 7 7. \u201cIt\u2019s not an event, it\u2019s a gathering and an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Miss Saturn performing her hula hoop dance routine at the 7 7 in the backyard of the Awesome Home. Photo: Shenal Tissera.<\/p><\/div>\n

The namesake comes from McAfee\u2019s childhood friend group back home in Berkeley, California, aptly dubbed the \u201c7 7 Posse\u201d because of their affinity for drinking Seagram\u2019s whiskey and 7-Up. Before this, McAfee,\u00a0in tandem with\u00a0St. Paul\u2019s Community Baptist Church<\/a>, hosted a film and culture series at\u00a0Medgar Evers College<\/a>, where he works as a communications specialist. Every three to six weeks, filmmakers would showcase their work to the audience and before each screening, local talent and artists would come and perform.<\/p>\n

Once the pandemic brought the film series to an end, McAfee said he was itching to do something similar a few years later.<\/p>\n

After meeting oodles of interesting people in and around his neighborhood of Flatbush through his campaigning efforts for Maya Wiley\u2019s mayoral bid, McAfee was spurred to create something that would bring all of those community members together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it started, it was either people who I knew or someone who was walking down the street with a violin or something and I\u2019d be like, \u2018Hey, do you play the violin? Would you like to share for seven minutes?\u2019\u201d\u00a0said McAfee.<\/p>\n

One of those strangers McAfee approached on the street was\u00a0Jake Schick<\/a>, a comedian and filmmaker, who wasn\u2019t holding a violin but was wearing a silly T-shirt they\u00a0had made. (Schick uses the pronoun they.)<\/p>\n

\u201cMiles was like, \u2018You look creative, wanna do my show?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Oh hi stranger, nice to meet you too!\u2019\u201d\u00a0said Schick in an interview with BK Reader. \u201cIt\u2019s the perfect encapsulation of Miles. He\u2019s so open and expressive. He\u2019ll happily go up to a stranger with a shirt he likes, unprompted, saying, \u2018Do my show.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Schick has now performed at 7 7 six times, which took place earlier this month\u00a0in the backyard of \u00a0Awesome\u00a0<\/a>Home<\/a>, a home goods store in Prospect Lefferts Gardens that is owned by McAfee\u2019s wife, Vanessa Raptopoulos. (Some regulars referred to the place as the “rebel base.”)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Miles McAfee and Jake Schick at 7-7 in the backyard of Awesome Home. Photo: Shenal Tissera.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t expect anything. Just have an open mind that you\u2019re gonna see a lot of different things. Just embrace that,\u201d said Schick. \u201cI feel like that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. A community showcase of people and just giving people time. Just wanting to hear voices from all kinds of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crowd at a recent April show included a mix of first-timers and regulars, including Steve Slavin, whom McAfee met while campaigning for Wiley in 2021 and bonded over the fact that he was a college roommate of\u00a0Senator Bernie Sanders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the shows, I\u2019m here. I\u2019m a regular at 7 7,\u201d said Slavin, adding that the group has grown\u00a0into a beautiful community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve created the dynamic where people are looking to each other and wanting to help support, laugh and love together. It\u2019s infectious,\u201d said McAfee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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