“The world of Common Ground is vividly captured with an economy of detail, and subtle and complex characterizations. The subject matter is both timely and timeless in the tradition of Steinbeck but not at all old fashioned.
Wendall Thomas, UCLA Film School
Writing
Nada Djordjevich writes fiction, screenplays, and essays. She has received multiple writing honors and has performed her work in many venues. A graduate of Harvard University and UC Berkeley, she has taught writing and is active in the arts community. As a selected participant in arts events, including the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Southampton Writers Conference, Colorado Writers Conference, and Vermont Studio Center, she had her work critiqued by a range of excellent writers including Melissa Bank, David Gates, Pam Houston, and Joyce Carol Oates. Most recently, she has received editorial support from writer and editor Molly Giles, to shape her short story collection. This manuscript should be completed by November 2020.
On the Radio
In this interview on the Richard Eeds show from SantaFe.Com, actor Alex Hurt who coproduced a live table read of Common Ground spoke about the script and why the story, characters, and themes resonate with our current moment. The full 17-minute broadcast is available here on Santa Fe radio.
Reviews and Descriptions
A filmmaker described the hallmarks of her screenwriting as “memorable characters, powerful dialogue, and broad and subtle humor.” An actress who performed in table reads of her scripts described the “immersive” quality of her storytelling. She wrote to her, “Honestly, I don't think I will ever be able to tell you enough how much I love getting to work with you, but more importantly how much I love getting the chance to act the things you've written. I love your characters, all of them, and always find myself wanting to just live in their world a little longer.” In May 2020, a premiere table read was held for Common Ground. An audience of 60+ people from Hawaii to Maine attended online and described the table read as “amazing” and “compelling drama” with “outstanding performances.”
“Terrific screenplay and performances. Your script is amazing. The relationships seemed very real to me.” California
“I just viewed Common Ground and loved it. I was very impressed with your writing-witty lines, wonderfully developed characters, and a terrific situation, timely and original. So many great lines I wish I’d written them.” California
“I was so struck with everyone. I really cared about each character.” Florida
“The play was just tremendous. Loved it. I was riveted at the end. I also want to affirm that the way the script left so many open doors makes it totally ripe for a series.” New Mexico
“OMG that was amazing. Truly. The writing had me in tears.” Hawaii
“What an awesome script. I loved it.” Maine
“Incredible. .. The story is great, the writing is great, and the performances were wonderful.” New York
In addition to the feature drama Common Ground, she has completed three romantic comedies and four short screenplays, including a horror (as co-writer) and a mystery. All eight of her completed scripts ranked in contests, including American Zoetrope, BlueCat, Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project, Fresh Voices, SF IndieFest, and Table Read My Screenplay.
Recent Screenplays
A woman fosters a rescue canine to meet a man in the dog park, but the unruly “wing dog” has another agenda in Fetch!
Get Out meets The Stepford Wives in the short horror screenplay Forever Forty. Co-writen by Vera Djordjevich, the script blends sci-fi, horror and dark comedy.
Twenty Minute Rom Com is a short about friends who don’t realize they’re more than friends until it’s too late.
A teacher uses the power of Shakespeare and talented students to challenge the technocrats trying to close her school in Much Ado About Something.
Supporting Writing, the Arts, and Education
Nada Djordjevich is deeply vested in supporting communities of artists and writers. She is a founding member of the board of Women in Film, San Francisco Bay Area. She has participated in the San Francisco Litquake Literary Festival five times, and was the co-founder and editor of the acclaimed literary journal On the Page. In the past three years, she raised over $1 million to improve arts access in California public schools. She has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and taught writing to students of all ages. One of her most meaningful experiences has been as a volunteer for 826 Valencia - Acting for Critical Thought, a partnership with American Conservatory Theater (ACT) and San Francisco Unified School District. In this role, she supported youth in crafting monologues and one-act plays that were later performed at The Strand theater in San Francisco. Her feature script, Much Ado About Something, was inspired by her teaching experiences.