Carlos Harris Photo Credit : TRIANGLE the WEB series’ Facebook Page
Ballroom Throwbacks (BRTB TV) creator and videographer Ceasar Williams goes straight for the jugular with TRIANGLE, the web series he co-directs with writer Carlos Harris.
According to Williams his wildly popular BRTB TV YouTube channel founded in 2009, has over 32 million views something he hopes to exponentially expand with this highly anticipated drama.
Harris attended Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts High School, he’s currently studying Public Relations at American University for Communications. He’s the Style Editor for JoJoCrews.com, a pop culture website.
TRIANGLE follows Jabril Anderson (Kenyon O’Brien), a good guy, who makes bad decisions especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Jabril’s love for both Brandon and Derrick are genuine, yet flawed all because of the lies they were built upon.
The comfortable life he’s built for himself slowly starts to peel away the moment his two worlds collide. In an instant things change, alliances are formed and it’s every man for himself.
We chatted with Williams and Harris about their plans for this high octane serial and what it took to bring this drama to life.
PRIDEINDEX (PI): TRIANGLE the web series covers themes of fidelity and friendship in African American gay relationships. What other themes will the series cover?
CEASAR WILLIAMS (CW): The series will cover different nuances in relationships, friendships, partnerships. Each situation will be based on some sort of “triangle.”
CARLOS HARRIS (CH): I wanted to write a story that covered a variety of emotions that viewers could relate to. Love is the main driving force with each character, but you will also see acts of betrayal, intrigue, and blackmail when new alliances are formed and trust is broken.
PI: What was the filming process like for TRIANGLE?
CH: {I} learned how to edit on the spot. For continuity sake, certain things that I wrote in the script didn’t work, so to make for a much stronger storyline, we nixed it.
CW: WOW! That’s the word that instantly comes to mind. You never really know what you’re getting yourself into, you picture one thing and one scene which may be simple to you in your mind transcends different on camera. We shot 12-14 hours each filming day.
PI: Tell us about any obstacles or challenges you faced during the filming process and briefly describe what you did to overcome them.
CW: Learning the cast and feeling out chemistry amongst them. Sometimes you write something for people and realize that there is more electricity with someone else so you have to change scenes and dialogue.
PI: Did you always want to have a show on YouTube?
CW: Well I already have a very successful channel on YouTube but I have always wanted to have scripted web-series. My goal is to have a variety of different shows catering to the LGBTQ community.
CH: Yes, because of the HUGE success of Ballroom Throwbacks. Ceasar has done a phenomenal job growing his brand internationally, so it’s a no-brainer. The web series will have its own page, but each episode will air on Ballroom Throwback’s YouTube page first.
PI: There is a plethora of web series on YouTube such as Anacostia, FREEFALL, Finding Me the Series, No Shade, Steele Rivers, Drama Queenz and Momma’z Boi. What do plan to bring to TRIANGLE that audiences have not already seen before?
CW: I want our show to be more of a gay soap think Bold and the Beautiful meets Noah’s Arc. I want to bring situations that people may currently or in the past have dealt with
CH: It’s good to see a variety of shows being independently produced and shown on YouTube. I wrote TRIANGLE as a nod for the glory days of Aaron Spelling/Douglas Marland storytelling, which was human interest stories, but with a switch and lots of HIGH-OCTANE drama!
PI: Filmmakers often infuse their own personal experiences in their work. Is TRIANGLE pure fiction? Have you encountered a similar situation the main characters face? If so how did you handle it?
CW: I think for mostly most people in this community have been in some sort of triangle before or have cheated. But there is some reality for me when I was 20 I was in a relationship with 2 people. I will just say that it did not end well. I was the one left alone in the end.
PI: While looking at trailer it’s abundantly clear there will be plenty of male eye candy. Do plan to bring any women or transgender characters to the show?
CH: Yes, there are actually two women on the show and they both play major roles in the series. We are open to casting anyone with good acting skills no matter the race or sexual orientation.
PI: How many episodes have you filmed thus far?
CW: The season will have 12 episodes with additional minisodes.
PI: Do you plan to use crowd funding sites such as GOFUNDME, Kickstarter or Indiegogo to raise funds for future shows?
CH: Yes, for season 2 we want to go on location for an even bigger storyline, so we’ll start a Kickstarter campaign to fun the cost.
PI: What is the one thing you hope that audiences will take away from this show?
CW: I just want the audience to be entertained and know how many talents are in our community.
CH: I want the audience to truly be entertained and hopefully learn something in the process.
TRIANGLE the web series will debut on November 6 in Philadelphia. Visit Ballroom Throwbacks (BRTB TV) at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOTws8mqdBTFp7rKKk4777g
