Private Project

Hold For Applause

Unlike her favorite sitcom, Hollywood waitress Sydney can’t just press pause when her “real life” falls into the shit… literally.

  • Nicole Treston Abranian
    Director
    Acapulco, The Goldbergs, Womb Room
  • Kelsie McDonald
    Writer
    No Translation Required, Womb Room, The Power Within
  • Kelsie McDonald
    Producer
    No Translation Required, Womb Room, The Power Within
  • Nicole Treston Abranian
    Producer
    Acapulco, The Goldbergs, Womb Room
  • Jonathan Goldfisher
    Producer
    The Menu, The Lincoln Lawyer, Mythic Quest
  • Madison Mohn
    Producer
    Heathers Musical, Burlesque UK, Freaky Friday UK
  • Kelsie McDonald
    Key Cast
    "Sydney McAdams"
    No Translation Required, Womb Room, The Power Within, When You Are Gone
  • Liz Zagone
    Key Cast
    "Pip"
    Womb Room
  • Bruno Oliver
    Key Cast
    "Joe"
    The Office, Modern Family, Mad Men, American Horror Story,
  • Katie Kusiciel
    Key Cast
    "Darla"
    The Long Way, Struggle Bus
  • Lacey Buchanan
    Key Cast
    "Tilly"
  • Andrew B Lipson
    Key Cast
    "Tray"
    Deli Boys, Chicago Med, FBI: Most Wanted
  • Victor Trotter
    Key Cast
    "Marcell Vance"
    The Vanished, Better Than Frank
  • Sofie Khan
    Key Cast
    "Cecily"
    Unfair & Ugly, For Your Eyes Only
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, Dramady
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 3, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    10,200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Nicole Treston Abranian

Nicole Treston Abranian made her directing debut on ABC’s The Goldbergs and went on to direct 7 episodes of the series. Her most recent directorial project is AppleTV+’s Acapulco, which has won Best Comedy Series at the Latin Critics Choice Awards, several Imagen Awards, and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best International Series. She has been a director on the show for the past 3 seasons, of which Season 4 debut earlier this year. Her TV pilot Womb Room, is entering a successful run on the film festival circuit now.

As a DGA member since 2008 and a 1st AD for the past 10 years, Nicole has honed her skills on a variety of your favorite shows, including Community, Key & Peele, and Superstore. As a 1st AD, she learned how to effectively lead a crew, but also had a front row seat to learning filmmaking from countless directors on over 100 episodes of television. This invaluable experience played a key role in developing her identity as a director and provided her with the skills to creatively shape her own episodes.

Nicole grew up in Glendale, California and graduated from UCLA. She currently resides in Los Angeles and can make your favorite ice cream flavor like you've never tasted it before.

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Director Statement

I connected to Kelsie's script immediately and was so honored to be asked to direct and produce this project. While we hope there are many moments that make you laugh, the core of it is really how one handles those "real life" moments. As a widow I related this script deeply and could really understand the character trying to keep her life on track while the storm looms ever present just above. I chose to shoot the majority of it as one shot with the camera following around the main character, Sydney, to further give the feelings of her real life chasing her and never letting up. In designing this shot with the Director of Photography, we knew we wanted to both start and end outside the restaurant to bookend her progress and for the audience to really feel the entire space of the interior in between, even following her during her quieter moments alone. I also felt the use of sound design was really important to this project in order to mimic the "noise" in Sydney's life as she struggles to focus on what's truly important. I believe audiences will relate to Sydney, and I hope they leave being a little kinder to those around them because everyone is going through something.