The Royal Court
Atlanta, Georgia | Series
Drama, Family
The Royal Court web series explores a rarely seen look inside the beautiful, glamorous, and sometimes underhanded world of a homecoming royal court at a historically black college. Follow a reluctant first attendant as she struggles to withstand the elected queen’s tirades to take her down.
The Royal Court
Atlanta, Georgia | Series
Drama, Family
1 Campaigns | Georgia, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,546 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
115 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
The Royal Court web series explores a rarely seen look inside the beautiful, glamorous, and sometimes underhanded world of a homecoming royal court at a historically black college. Follow a reluctant first attendant as she struggles to withstand the elected queen’s tirades to take her down.
Participating In
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
In the fall of 2017, what should have been an exciting day for College Senior Ambria Spencer as she was being crowned the first attendant at her HBCU, and her long-time boyfriend Senior Charles Waller was being crowned King, turned out to be a nightmare? Not only did Ambria have to depend on all of her years of leadership training and faith to handle the undeserving queen's tirade against her, but also smile through the misery as everyone on campus watched the drama play out. Charles would have his struggles being torn between love and the call of duty as king.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Shandra McDonald
I have been telling stories since I was a little girl growing up in Gaithersburg, Maryland (born in Mongtomery, Alabama). I can remember spending hours in my parent's basement (thanks Mom and Dad) bringing to life masterful story lines (or so I thought) with barbies, barbie townhouses, cars, set decorations and props (some bought others made), which were the paint brushes to my canvass. Compelling stories about real people meant everything to me then, and that passion has only increased over the 20 years of my experience as a writer, director, and producer.
~The Royal Court is one of those stories
From the moment I met Ambria and Charles, I wanted to tell their story. I knew they were superstars in the making with a provocative story to tell. This is a story of inner strength, determination, leadership, and iron-will despite emotionally challenging circumstance that would bring anyone to their knees, tear apart their relationship and cause them to distance themselves from their royal appointments. Not these leaders! They prevailed!
Behind the smiles, royal waves
and regal decor of coronations is a lot of drama!
It's heart-wrenching to watch
another woman
enjoy the crown with your man!
I see their story in my sleep and paint the picture in my filmmaker mind of how to bring it to life. I see the flawless makeup, stylish wardrobes, effervescent smiles and charming personalities in public. I see tears and triumphs behind the scenes! Black fraternities and sororities stepping intermingled with real-life experiences with a historically, black campus will serve as the backdrop. I have been a member of a black sorority (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority - spring 1990) for over 25 years, and I attended a historically black college (Howard University) just like Ambria and Charles. I've seen a lot of great college shows, but I have not seen this story. You have not seen this story. They are ready to tell it. My team and I are ready to bring it to life!
Welcome to the Royal Court
MEET CHARLES AND AMBRIA
AWARD-WINNING EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Executive Producer/Writer/Director
Shandra McDonald
SHANDRA L. MCDONALD is an award-winning screenwriter, director, editor, and producer with more than 20 years experience in the television and film industry. Her projects have earned accolades from the Director's Guild of America, Atlanta Film Festival, IFP Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, Showtime Black Filmmakers Showcase and the 48-Hour Film Festival. Shandra has written, directed and produced original content that has aired on networks including, Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC, TLC, The Discovery Channel, The Fine Living Network, Aspire/UP TV, and the Turner Networks. Shandra's film projects have screened at international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Fespaco Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Africa. She has been asked to direct and produce many projects for Women in Film and Television/Atlanta including a PSA, a documentary, and served as the showrunner/co-producer on a narrative, web series about prostitution. A recent project the film titled, JINN where she is one of the Executive Producers is screening and winning awards at film festivals across the country, including the South by Southwest Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival, Bronzelens Film Festival and many more. The film recently received distribution with MGM Studios and is set to release in theatres across the county and stream concurrently on Amazon in the fall. Shandra also has a flair for development. She is currently in development with award-winning production company Screen Lloyd for a feature film that she co-wrote and is slated to direct titled Awake O Sleeper. Ms. McDonald continues to grow her film-production company Kiss the Limit Productions producing various types of content including web series, television pilots, documentaries, short and feature films while being a proud Film Professor at Clayton State University.
Jessica Pope - Executive Producer
At the core of the Royal Court story of inner strength, determination, leadership, and iron will is the dynamic mother/campaign manager to Homecoming Queen Ambria Spencer and campaign manager to Homecoming King Charles Waller is Jessica Pope. She worked her natural talent of organizing, marketing, and leadership to guide these two through the royal perils of being Royal. Using a mix of Mother's Love and Boss Lady Manager, she led them to a victory every time.
Perfect for the web! Perfect for television!
It's not every day that the real people who inspire the story, star in the story. It's also not everyday that you stand in the midst of two stars in the making. Ambria and Charles are those stars!
MORE GREAT NEWS
YOU CAN WRITE OFF YOUR DONATION!
We are pleased to offer you a tax write-off for your donation.
Thanks to our fiscal partners the Big Picture Conference, all donations are tax deductible.
Give and they will do the rest!
You give to us - Thank you!
They give back to you a write off - Thank you Big Picture Con!
For more information on the Big Picture Con go http://www.bigpicturecon.com/about.html
For more information on their fiscal sposorships go to: http://bigpicturefdn.org/fiscal-sponsorship
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Talent
Costs $650
This is their story! Here comes the cast!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Catering
Costs $725
Food makes people happy and work harder!
Location Cost
Costs $500
Historically, black college campus life.
Make-UP and Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Our stars shine behind the camera and in front of it.
Cast and Crew
Costs $4,525
In life, you get what you pay for, we want to bring you a quality performance.
Editor
Costs $850
Good editing brings it all together!
Camera
Costs $500
Action!
Lighting and Grip
Costs $500
From the campus to coronation, we have to light it right.
Props
Costs $250
They have a lot of what we need, but we may have to rent a little.
Production Design
Costs $500
We plan to borrow a lot and buy a little to make our sets beautiful!
Share this update!
About This Team
SHANDRA L. MCDONALD is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer with more than 20 years’ experience in the television and film industry. Her projects have earned accolades from the Director's Guild of America, Atlanta Film Festival, IFP Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, Showtime Black Filmmakers Showcase and the 48-Hour Film Festival. Shandra has written, directed and produced original content that has aired on networks including, Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC, TLC, The Discovery Channel, The Fine Living Network, Aspire/UP TV, and the Turner Networks. Shandra's film projects have screened at international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Fespaco Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Africa. She has been asked to direct and produce many projects for Women in Film and Television/Atlanta including a PSA, a documentary, and served as the showrunner/co-producer on a narrative, web series about prostitution. A recent project the film title, JINN where she is one of the Executive Producers, has received distribution with MGM Studios and is screening and winning awards at film festivals across the country, including the South by Southwest Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival and many more. The film recently received a distribution deal with MGM Studios and is set to release in theatres across the county and stream concurrently on Amazon in the fall. Shandra has a flair for development. She is currently in development with award-winning production company Screen Lloyd for a feature film that she co-wrote and is slated to direct titled Awake O Sleeper. Ms. McDonald continues to grow her film-production company Kiss the Limit Productions producing various types of content including web series, television pilots, documentaries, short and feature films, while being a proud Film Professor at Clayton State University.
JESSICA WHITE-POPE is from the southern city of Waycross, Georgia. She is a singer-songwriter and Executive Producer of the web series entitled “The Royal Court”. While she is new to the film industry, her desire is to broaden her abilities to create and produce television series that will capture the essence of true inspiration.
AMBRIA SPENCER is 21 years old and was born and raised in the southern city called Waycross, Georgia. She is a recent graduate of Fort Valley State University where she received her bachelor's in Business Management. While at Fort Valley State University she served in different leadership positions such as Miss 1895, Miss Football, Miss Royal Blue and Miss Fort Valley State University. As her life continues she has come to find this quote very powerful and useful, “If your dreams or goals don’t scare you then they’re simply not big enough- Muhammad Ali.”
CHARLES WALLER is a 22 year old African American male from the cherry blossom city of Macon, Ga. He is the son of Tia Glover, Charles and Milkia Waller. He has four siblings, 1 boy and 3 girls. He graduated in 2013 from Westside high school. Attending The Fort Valley State University, Charles has served as Mr.Basketball, Mr.1895 and Mr. Fort Valley State University. In these positions, Charles served his University and Fort Valley community to the best of his ability. Charles lives by one of his favorite quotes from Eric Thomas, “ When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”
MISTY KELLY began working as a freelancer in TV and Film Production with major cable networks in New York City after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication form Auburn University in 2002. She completed her Master of Business Administration specializing in Entertainment Management in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012. Since, Misty has enjoyed working with Atlanta’s top event production firms managing the stage, fundraising, providing production logistics and voice-overs for high profile non-profits in the region. Misty's passion for spreading awareness of art and culture has been her life-line for nearly a decade.
AVRIL SPEAKS - has several years of experience as a filmmaker to include credits as a producer, writer, director, and editor. Seeing a need for a broader selection of quality films, Avril's goal is to diversify the film market by creating unique films, and by educating and empowering aspiring filmmakers; thereby creating a movement consisting of media that represents the true, multi-dimensional qualities of people and speaks to the world.
Committed to themes that center around family, community, social justice, and spirituality, Avril continues to work on interesting projects within film and television. She was an Associate Producer on the TNT docu-series American Race, and is the lead producer on the feature film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW in 2018 and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. She is currently one of the producers for the upcoming feature film, Hosea, while preparing to produce Easmanie Michel’s film Caroline’s Wedding, based on the short story by Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat. She is a Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow for the project Noor, and a winner of the 2018 Movie Magic Producer Award. She most recently worked as a Production Manager for Scripted Programming at BET Networks.
Avril earned her M.F.A. in Film Directing from Columbia University School of the Arts in New York City and was a film professor in Atlanta and at Howard University before moving to Los Angeles. She earned a second Masters in Theology and Film before deciding to leave academia to focus primarily on producing and directing. She has directed two feature films The Round Table, and the award-winning film Sophisticated Romance. For more information, visit http://www.azuspeak.com.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
In the fall of 2017, what should have been an exciting day for College Senior Ambria Spencer as she was being crowned the first attendant at her HBCU, and her long-time boyfriend Senior Charles Waller was being crowned King, turned out to be a nightmare? Not only did Ambria have to depend on all of her years of leadership training and faith to handle the undeserving queen's tirade against her, but also smile through the misery as everyone on campus watched the drama play out. Charles would have his struggles being torn between love and the call of duty as king.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
Shandra McDonald
I have been telling stories since I was a little girl growing up in Gaithersburg, Maryland (born in Mongtomery, Alabama). I can remember spending hours in my parent's basement (thanks Mom and Dad) bringing to life masterful story lines (or so I thought) with barbies, barbie townhouses, cars, set decorations and props (some bought others made), which were the paint brushes to my canvass. Compelling stories about real people meant everything to me then, and that passion has only increased over the 20 years of my experience as a writer, director, and producer.
~The Royal Court is one of those stories
From the moment I met Ambria and Charles, I wanted to tell their story. I knew they were superstars in the making with a provocative story to tell. This is a story of inner strength, determination, leadership, and iron-will despite emotionally challenging circumstance that would bring anyone to their knees, tear apart their relationship and cause them to distance themselves from their royal appointments. Not these leaders! They prevailed!
Behind the smiles, royal waves
and regal decor of coronations is a lot of drama!
It's heart-wrenching to watch
another woman
enjoy the crown with your man!
I see their story in my sleep and paint the picture in my filmmaker mind of how to bring it to life. I see the flawless makeup, stylish wardrobes, effervescent smiles and charming personalities in public. I see tears and triumphs behind the scenes! Black fraternities and sororities stepping intermingled with real-life experiences with a historically, black campus will serve as the backdrop. I have been a member of a black sorority (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority - spring 1990) for over 25 years, and I attended a historically black college (Howard University) just like Ambria and Charles. I've seen a lot of great college shows, but I have not seen this story. You have not seen this story. They are ready to tell it. My team and I are ready to bring it to life!
Welcome to the Royal Court
MEET CHARLES AND AMBRIA
AWARD-WINNING EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Executive Producer/Writer/Director
Shandra McDonald
SHANDRA L. MCDONALD is an award-winning screenwriter, director, editor, and producer with more than 20 years experience in the television and film industry. Her projects have earned accolades from the Director's Guild of America, Atlanta Film Festival, IFP Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, Showtime Black Filmmakers Showcase and the 48-Hour Film Festival. Shandra has written, directed and produced original content that has aired on networks including, Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC, TLC, The Discovery Channel, The Fine Living Network, Aspire/UP TV, and the Turner Networks. Shandra's film projects have screened at international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Fespaco Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Africa. She has been asked to direct and produce many projects for Women in Film and Television/Atlanta including a PSA, a documentary, and served as the showrunner/co-producer on a narrative, web series about prostitution. A recent project the film titled, JINN where she is one of the Executive Producers is screening and winning awards at film festivals across the country, including the South by Southwest Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival, Bronzelens Film Festival and many more. The film recently received distribution with MGM Studios and is set to release in theatres across the county and stream concurrently on Amazon in the fall. Shandra also has a flair for development. She is currently in development with award-winning production company Screen Lloyd for a feature film that she co-wrote and is slated to direct titled Awake O Sleeper. Ms. McDonald continues to grow her film-production company Kiss the Limit Productions producing various types of content including web series, television pilots, documentaries, short and feature films while being a proud Film Professor at Clayton State University.
Jessica Pope - Executive Producer
At the core of the Royal Court story of inner strength, determination, leadership, and iron will is the dynamic mother/campaign manager to Homecoming Queen Ambria Spencer and campaign manager to Homecoming King Charles Waller is Jessica Pope. She worked her natural talent of organizing, marketing, and leadership to guide these two through the royal perils of being Royal. Using a mix of Mother's Love and Boss Lady Manager, she led them to a victory every time.
Perfect for the web! Perfect for television!
It's not every day that the real people who inspire the story, star in the story. It's also not everyday that you stand in the midst of two stars in the making. Ambria and Charles are those stars!
MORE GREAT NEWS
YOU CAN WRITE OFF YOUR DONATION!
We are pleased to offer you a tax write-off for your donation.
Thanks to our fiscal partners the Big Picture Conference, all donations are tax deductible.
Give and they will do the rest!
You give to us - Thank you!
They give back to you a write off - Thank you Big Picture Con!
For more information on the Big Picture Con go http://www.bigpicturecon.com/about.html
For more information on their fiscal sposorships go to: http://bigpicturefdn.org/fiscal-sponsorship
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Talent
Costs $650
This is their story! Here comes the cast!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Catering
Costs $725
Food makes people happy and work harder!
Location Cost
Costs $500
Historically, black college campus life.
Make-UP and Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Our stars shine behind the camera and in front of it.
Cast and Crew
Costs $4,525
In life, you get what you pay for, we want to bring you a quality performance.
Editor
Costs $850
Good editing brings it all together!
Camera
Costs $500
Action!
Lighting and Grip
Costs $500
From the campus to coronation, we have to light it right.
Props
Costs $250
They have a lot of what we need, but we may have to rent a little.
Production Design
Costs $500
We plan to borrow a lot and buy a little to make our sets beautiful!
Share this update!
About This Team
SHANDRA L. MCDONALD is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer with more than 20 years’ experience in the television and film industry. Her projects have earned accolades from the Director's Guild of America, Atlanta Film Festival, IFP Film Festival, Hollywood Black Film Festival, Showtime Black Filmmakers Showcase and the 48-Hour Film Festival. Shandra has written, directed and produced original content that has aired on networks including, Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC, TLC, The Discovery Channel, The Fine Living Network, Aspire/UP TV, and the Turner Networks. Shandra's film projects have screened at international festivals including the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Fespaco Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Africa. She has been asked to direct and produce many projects for Women in Film and Television/Atlanta including a PSA, a documentary, and served as the showrunner/co-producer on a narrative, web series about prostitution. A recent project the film title, JINN where she is one of the Executive Producers, has received distribution with MGM Studios and is screening and winning awards at film festivals across the country, including the South by Southwest Film Festival, American Black Film Festival, Roxbury Film Festival and many more. The film recently received a distribution deal with MGM Studios and is set to release in theatres across the county and stream concurrently on Amazon in the fall. Shandra has a flair for development. She is currently in development with award-winning production company Screen Lloyd for a feature film that she co-wrote and is slated to direct titled Awake O Sleeper. Ms. McDonald continues to grow her film-production company Kiss the Limit Productions producing various types of content including web series, television pilots, documentaries, short and feature films, while being a proud Film Professor at Clayton State University.
JESSICA WHITE-POPE is from the southern city of Waycross, Georgia. She is a singer-songwriter and Executive Producer of the web series entitled “The Royal Court”. While she is new to the film industry, her desire is to broaden her abilities to create and produce television series that will capture the essence of true inspiration.
AMBRIA SPENCER is 21 years old and was born and raised in the southern city called Waycross, Georgia. She is a recent graduate of Fort Valley State University where she received her bachelor's in Business Management. While at Fort Valley State University she served in different leadership positions such as Miss 1895, Miss Football, Miss Royal Blue and Miss Fort Valley State University. As her life continues she has come to find this quote very powerful and useful, “If your dreams or goals don’t scare you then they’re simply not big enough- Muhammad Ali.”
CHARLES WALLER is a 22 year old African American male from the cherry blossom city of Macon, Ga. He is the son of Tia Glover, Charles and Milkia Waller. He has four siblings, 1 boy and 3 girls. He graduated in 2013 from Westside high school. Attending The Fort Valley State University, Charles has served as Mr.Basketball, Mr.1895 and Mr. Fort Valley State University. In these positions, Charles served his University and Fort Valley community to the best of his ability. Charles lives by one of his favorite quotes from Eric Thomas, “ When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”
MISTY KELLY began working as a freelancer in TV and Film Production with major cable networks in New York City after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication form Auburn University in 2002. She completed her Master of Business Administration specializing in Entertainment Management in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012. Since, Misty has enjoyed working with Atlanta’s top event production firms managing the stage, fundraising, providing production logistics and voice-overs for high profile non-profits in the region. Misty's passion for spreading awareness of art and culture has been her life-line for nearly a decade.
AVRIL SPEAKS - has several years of experience as a filmmaker to include credits as a producer, writer, director, and editor. Seeing a need for a broader selection of quality films, Avril's goal is to diversify the film market by creating unique films, and by educating and empowering aspiring filmmakers; thereby creating a movement consisting of media that represents the true, multi-dimensional qualities of people and speaks to the world.
Committed to themes that center around family, community, social justice, and spirituality, Avril continues to work on interesting projects within film and television. She was an Associate Producer on the TNT docu-series American Race, and is the lead producer on the feature film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW in 2018 and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. She is currently one of the producers for the upcoming feature film, Hosea, while preparing to produce Easmanie Michel’s film Caroline’s Wedding, based on the short story by Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat. She is a Film Independent Producing Lab Fellow for the project Noor, and a winner of the 2018 Movie Magic Producer Award. She most recently worked as a Production Manager for Scripted Programming at BET Networks.
Avril earned her M.F.A. in Film Directing from Columbia University School of the Arts in New York City and was a film professor in Atlanta and at Howard University before moving to Los Angeles. She earned a second Masters in Theology and Film before deciding to leave academia to focus primarily on producing and directing. She has directed two feature films The Round Table, and the award-winning film Sophisticated Romance. For more information, visit http://www.azuspeak.com.