“A Labor of Love”: Producing a Love Story From Scratch

Metro Ties title. (Photo courtesy of Jules E. Coy)

What would you do if you believed in a project so much that you were willing to not get paid to see its success? Many crew and cast members of the new series “Metro Ties” did just that because they believed in representing the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, commonly referred to as the DMV.

“Metro Ties” is a new series about a 28-year-old consultant, Aisha Williams (played by McKenzie Estep), as she searches for love in the DMV area. She navigates her work and romantic life, like many other local residents — and that’s the whole point. Leroy Amankrah and Jules E. Coy are the executive producers of the show. Coy also works as the executive director. “Metro Ties” focuses on real people’s experiences and encapsulates the DMV and all its beauty. Amankrah and Coy were supporting their colleague, Jabri Jefferson, director of photography and executive producer, at a short film screening, when all of a sudden an idea sparked.

The main character, Aisha Williams, played by McKenzie Estep, with her best friend Jade Thompson, played by Ciera Cymone Germany, in the “Metro Ties” trailer. (Photo courtesy of Jules E. Coy)

“It was called Project X for the longest period of time….it wasn’t until April last year when we hit the ground running,” Coy said.

But an idea burning brightly is only part of the equation. Now, all they needed was money. But what do you do when you have a passion project with no money? Many members of the cast and crew for “Metro Ties” were not paid; they simply understood that this was a project they wanted to work on and see flourish.

Sarah Andoh-Kesson worked unpaid as a casting director, assistant director and acting coach on the set of “Metro Ties.” She worked on the production in addition to her regular paid job as a social worker. She believed in “Metro Ties’” creativity and wanted to return to her creative roots.

“It was really just about the motivation and just believing in the vision that Jules and Leroy had and just trying to do our best,” Andoh-Kesson said.

Not only did Coy and Amankrah’s vision inspire Andoh-Kesson, but she was also inspired by the progression of the actors she coached. She worked with actors who were fairly new to the television scene. The hard work, dedication and progress she saw during her time training them kept her motivated to continue to commit to the project.

Although Andoh-Kesson believed in “Metro Ties” and had a strong commitment to producing this story, that doesn’t mean there weren’t days when the schedule was packed and slightly overwhelming. In the beginning, the work mostly consisted of screening different actors, but as it progressed, the work became more hands-on, including script updates, business calls, rehearsal calls and back-to-back shooting days. Although the work increased, Andoh-Kesson is the type of person who doesn’t like to start projects without finishing them, so she persisted, she said.

“I think for me, you really build a strong rapport with everyone. I definitely feel even closer to Jules and Leroy from being a part of this than before, so that was a plus. But even with the actors and just the people in general that I was getting to meet and network with, it was just something that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anywhere else,” Andoh-Kesson said.

The production of “Metro Ties” was truly a community effort, from conception. Before the show even started, Amankrah and Coy held focus groups consisting of men and women telling stories of their romantic lives in the D.C. area. These focus groups helped them develop the foundation of the show and understand how they wanted to tell Aisha Williams’ story.

“Metro Ties” will resonate for professionals in the DMV, punching their time cards in and out for a 40-hour work week, going to happy hours on the weekend and trying to find love— all at the same time. While the show focuses on professional life, which is a big part of D.C. culture, it also understands that D.C. is not a monolith, but instead a labyrinth of ideas, people and experiences.

Chevelle Blackburne worked as a screenwriter on “Metro Ties” and says that when writing this story, she looked to past dating experiences and believes that the DMV “brings an interesting perspective.”

“You may find someone who is just comfortable in life, just coasting by, depending on where you are in the world. But I don’t think you’ll find that very often in the DMV. So having people who are specifically driven by their career aspirations and their overall life goals was a unique take,” Blackburne said.

The main character, Aisha Williams (played by McKenzie Estep), speaks at a meeting. (Photo courtesy of Jules E. Coy)

Blackburne sees a lot of herself in Aisha Williams. They are both goal-oriented women who have had many experiences looking for love. When writing the script, Blackburne drew on her own life, looking back at her late 20s and incorporating stories from friends and partners. When originally approached with Williams’ story, Blackburne knew that this story was something she could “speak life and truth into.”

Blackburne understands that the dating pool isn’t the greatest, to say the least, and that it can be hectic at times, especially when you are a driven person who has control over most things in your life.

“I think the impact that I was hoping to have was drawing attention to the fact that you can be driven and you can recognize that the things that are in your control are going exactly the way you want [them] to. And you still have to recognize that if you are looking for someone in particular or something in terms of a relationship, those things aren’t in your control,” Blackburne said.

According to Andoh-Kesson, Metro Ties is a “labor of love.” It brings together videographers, photographers and cinematographers to produce work they are passionate about. Amankrah has worked in the film industry for 11 years and noted that the film and photography community in the DMV is small. Through the years, many people in the film and photography industry have helped each other on projects. The production of “Metro Ties” consisted of a mutual exchange of expertise and passion.

Jules E. Coy (executive producer and director) and Jabari Jefferson (director of photography and executive producer) are working on set during Metro Ties production. (Photo Courtesy of Jules E. Coy)

“For this project specifically, a lot of people saw the vision and stayed on for the late nights and the biweekly meetings and the marketing plan that was six months long and everything that we put behind it…,” Amankrah said.

Metro Ties cast and crew at a table read. (Photo courtesy of Jules E. Coy)

This love story was told through the dedication and hard work of a community of passionate creatives who believed in the message. Although many of the cast and crew were not receiving pay, many of them believed in Amankrah and Coy’s vision, which gave them the motivation to continue working.

Last month, “Metro Ties” premiered the pilot episode at Metro Bar in Northwest D.C., but as of now, that is all that has been produced. According to Coy, the production is crowdfunding and will need about $20,000 in funding for the next episode. 

Currently, they are speaking with distributors, bringing together additional focus groups and making plans to show the pilot episode at different film festivals to promote their work.

“Being able to do this kind of project in the way we did it and with the quality and attention to detail that we were able to do it, comparable to a Hollywood film set, gave us the confidence we need in order to really know that we had something that was going to make some noise,” Amankrah said.

As of now, the DMV is waiting to see what’s next for “Metro Ties,” but this labor of community, passion and – most importantly –  love will not go in vain as the cast and crew will continue to work towards their goals.

“That was a huge part of the success of ‘Metro Ties’…just having that support from the community and everybody wanting it to be good,” Coy said.