Jillian Clare will always be a part of the Days of Our Lives family having played the part of Abigail Deveraux – especially since she brought the role to life at a pivotal time during the show. Now, she’s stepped behind the camera to tell stories she wants to see!
A Days of Our Lives Reunion
To The Beat! Back 2 School, a sequel To The Beat!, which Clare not only stars in but wrote and directed, as well, is available now on DVD and on all major VOD (Video on Demand) platforms, including Amazon, Vimeo, iTunes, and many others. Check out the film’s website for more information.
Soap Hub chatted with Clare about the film, which also stars DAYS’ Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Martha Madison (Belle) and former General Hospital star Lilly Melgar (ex-Lilly).
Soap Hub: How did you get involved in writing and directing?
Jillian Clare: Growing up in the business, I was always interested in the other side of the camera. I’d ask directors questions to try to understand what they did. When I became a teenager, I stopped getting opportunities so I started to create my own content. To The Beat! came about when friends said they wanted to do content that their daughter could watch. It was so successful, we decided to do a sequel!
Where does To The Beat 2! Back to School pick up?
We don’t specify exactly when it takes place, but they’ve all come back from spring break and are headed into the end of the year. The three leads that were in the first one – Laura Krystine (Mackie), Brisa Lalich (Mia), and Jayden Bartels (Avery) – are all back and we have many new characters. The story is still about the twins (Mackie and Mia) and their ex-rival Avery. They realize there are more important things than being mean to one another.
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How did Martha and Eric come to be a part of the cast?
I’ve known Eric since I was a teenager. My mom [Susan Bernhardt] worked with him and I used to babysit his twins when they were little! Eric’s son, Mason, is in the movie, too. Eric’s an incredible actor as is Martha. They play husband and wife, parents to Avery. They’re so funny. Martha’s a comedic genius. Eric can take whatever is thrown at him. I wish I could do an entire movie just based on their relationship!
You played Abby on DAYS during the whole Salem Serial Killer storyline when characters were being killed off every few weeks! Any memories?
I think, as Abby, I went to 12 funerals! The show gave me this little purse for those scenes and I’d have a Game Boy in my purse that I could play in between takes with Missy [Reeves, Jennifer] and [the late] Frances [Reid, Alice].
I had such a great time there. Once, I nearly had a breakdown while doing a monologue in which Abby was yelling at Jennifer. I got so mad at myself because I had messed up. The director came up to me said, ‘You know that you’re, like, 11. It’s okay to mess up!’ My time on DAYS created some awesome relationships.
I also remember there was a premiere of some episodes including Maggie’s (Suzanne Rogers) ‘death’ at the Arclight movie theater in Hollywood! [One of the magazines] had a theory that Abby was actually the killer. I thought how is that possible? I’m not even tall enough! Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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