Performing artist and content creator Jillian Reeves was born in Irmo, a small town outside of Columbia, South Carolina. She then moved to Chicago before making her way to Los Angeles.
Reeves began acting in college at the University of South Carolina. She said after doing poorly in her classes one semester, she decided to take some easier classes and acting was one of those classes.
But the instructor in Reeves’ acting class saw something in her. She said he encouraged her to consider acting as a serious activity. That same instructor cast Reeves in her first play.
“I just kept doing plays, and ended up changing my major to theatre,” said Reeves. “It’s a small town, so whenever we did plays it was a huge production, and the whole community came out, and the state newspaper would review us.”
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Today, Reeves said she loves working as an actress, but she also enjoys being a writer, producer, and director of her own independent projects. Her short film “Broken” is one of those undertakings, and it explores the impact of mental illness on a family.
“We’re developing [Broken] into a longer form,” said Reeves. “It’s about a family and how they’re grappling – a mother who is grappling with a child who has mental illness, and I just think it’s so relevant to what’s going on, and I think it’s really relevant to our community.”
Reeves said “Broken” was her way to raise awareness about mental health and help Black people to have more open conversations about it. “And how difficult it is to get family members treated [who are] over 18,” she said.
Reeves’ latest acting role is in the feature film, “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” The movie is currently screening at select theaters. It is based on a true story and brings to light some honest truths about foster care.
“This story is about a community who adopted 77 children out of the foster care system,” said Reeves. “So, 22 families adopted 77 kids and changed the trajectory of their lives.”
The idea for fostering the children began with Donna and Reverend Martin at their church in East Texas. Reeves said none of the children went back into the system, and they were eventually adopted by the people who were fostering them.
“One of the beautiful things about the story is that we don’t sugarcoat the difficulties of fostering kids that have been through a lot,” said Reeves. “We show those difficulties, but then we see how the whole community came together and pitched in to help one another.”
Reeves said the message of people coming together to help each other through difficult times is one she hopes does not get missed in the film. “It is amazing what we can accomplish when we come together as a community,” she said.
Reeves plays Diann, who is the sister of Donna Reeves in “Sound of Hope.” Diann is the first parent to adopt. She is the single mother of a daughter who welcomes three new sons into her home.
“I found her to be an amazing woman,” said Reeves. “I got to meet her. She is salt of the Earth, just the sweetest woman that you will ever meet. And it was truly an honor, I feel, to bring her character to the screen.”
In her future, Reeves wants to continue creating her own projects, teaching acting classes, and taking care of her own mental wellness.
For more on Jillian Reeves and her current projects, visit https://www.jillianreeves.com, and for more information on the film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot,” visit https://www.angel.com/movies/sound-of-hope-the-story-of-possum-trot.
