A Nice Little Story

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Tyler Ross
WRITER: Kate Bailey
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Allen Chodakowski
FORMAT: Narrative Short
GENRE: Drama
STATUS: Post-production

SYNOPSIS: May and August, early 30’s, have been friends for a long time. They’ve never revealed their crushes on each other. The moment they do, a pandemic hits and they are forced to quarantine separately. Messaging and texting pictures of themselves to each other becomes the way to keep the spark alive. Today, the quarantine has been lifted and May and August are meeting for the very first time since beginning their romance. But when brought face to face, things don’t go as expected...

Situational Themes:
—The uncertainty of how to best handle unexpected trauma.
—The bravery of facing life head-on and taking a step forward.

Universal Themes:
—How we label our circumstances based on the emotions that arise from them - particularly in the realms of “traumatic” vs “secure” and “familiar” vs “uncertain”.
—How the way we relate to one another may shift as the circumstances shift, and the impact of that on ourselves, our relationships, and our lives.

Cast & Characters

MAY
A very normal looking woman. Tidy, lives alone, put together. Her ability to control is linked to her feeling of safety. We all see ourselves in May. May is the lead of our story. We begin and end with her.

MAY is played by DIANE McNULTY, an actress based in Los Angeles with roots in Chicago theatre.

AUGUST
A very normal looking man. Observant, compassionate, desirable, deep. His ability to listen is linked to his feeling of being validated. We all see ourselves in August. August is our second lead. August joins us late and leaves early, but we understand him, and wonder about what happens to him when he leaves.

August is played by TRAVIS DELGADO, an actor working and based in Chicago.

SAGE
A wary neighbor walking her dog. Friendly, but not outgoing. Living comfortably but has learned over time to be on the lookout for those who wish to take advantage.

Sage only appears for a moment, but it is a very important moment. She willingly participates in an opportunity for courage and connection.

Sage is played by AIKO ALEGRIA, a wonderful human being living in Los Angeles.

Filmmakers

WRITER: Kate Bailey is a forward-thinking female writer, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kate received her BA in Theatre Performance from Louisiana State University and her MFA in Playwriting from the University of New Orleans. She also studied playwriting at Chicago Dramatists in Chicago and teleplay writing at the UCLA Extension Program. She is the founder of Jolly Pig Project, a resource for writers in Los Angeles, where she coordinates and participates in all readings and mixers. She is a founding member of Generate INK, New Orleans first and only playwright-driven nonprofit, where she helped new playwrights by producing their first shows. She has had short plays in numerous short play festivals in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Her short play Stimulate was published at The Furious Gazelle, an online magazine, and her full-length play Pleading 894 is available from By/For Publishing. New Orleans full-length credits include STRAYS and Pleading 894. Los Angeles credits include A Surplus Of and the upcoming radio play Hollywood & Western. She is the Creator/Executive Producer of the web series To and From, available on Youtube.

DIRECTOR: Tyler Ross most recently Executive Produced and starred in the award-winning independent feature film HUM, currently playing the festival circuit. He is also the producer of a half-hour comedy television series called CRASHING TOGETHER, created by David Andalman and Benjamin Lorr. Ross is primarily known for his work as an actor and has worked with directors such as David Fincher, Jonathan Demme, Anthony Hemingway, and Azazel Jacobs, and for companies such as Amazon, Netflix, CBS, Warner Brothers, Fox, HBO, Showtime, Disney, and A24. Recently, Ross has committed to using his connections and experience in the industry to bring together and showcase underrepresented voices in film and television. It is important to him that as directing and producing opportunities present themselves, the projects that are focused on reflect the diversity of those in this industry and in the world.

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Allen Chodakowski was born and bred in Chicago and now lives and works in Los Angeles. His body of work includes countless short films and most recently the award-winning independent feature film HUM, currently playing the festival circuit. Living in a media age overflowing with content, Chodakowski is on the hunt for stories that cut through the noise.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Donations go toward repaying the production's debt financing and toward ensuring that the film will be professionally colored, sound mixed, scored, and submitted to festivals.