PRESS
KNIVES AND SKIN (IFC Midnight)
"Grace Smith, Kayla Carter, Ireon Roach, Audrey Francis, Steppenwolf Ensemble great Kate Arrington and longtime artist-writer-actor-local treasure Tony Fitzpatrick are among the standouts in the excellent cast."
- Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
"Reeder wrings fine performances from her mostly unschooled, youthful cast."
- Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
"The cast, two actresses in particular, give it their all...The most interesting is Andy’s sister Joanna (a promising Grace Smith)"
- Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"Reminiscent of Anna Kendrick, Grace Smith offers a sharp snarkiness as a smart girl with big dreams and a deeply troubled home life."
- Kristy Puchko, Riot Material
"The heartbeat of the film is young Joanna (Grace Smith)...She wears retro, homemade shirts with the names of feminist icons and liberal colleges ironed on, and wades through the pain of loss in much the same way as Anna Paquin in Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret, which is to say sometimes maturely and sometimes dangerously"
- Matthew Nerber, Third Coast Review
"Grace Smith’s journey throughout Knives and Skin stands as the most affecting (so smart, so manipulative, so vulnerable)."
- Matt Donato, Dread Central
"...the cast as a whole proves very much an embarrassment of relatively unknown riches; Grace Smith is especially remarkable as Joanna, the sister of the boy Carolyn was last seen with, bringing a believable cynicism to the table that never veers too far into too-cool-for-school precociousness."
- Shaun Munro, Flickering Myth
"Smith is a runaway train of resolute doggedness and vulnerability."
- Tracy Palmer, Signal Horizon
"Smith’s perfectly calibrated, sardonic teen rebel"
- Jake Tropila, Film Inquiry
"major standouts here are Grace Smith as Joanna...Smith puts across a character who is extremely smart and uncompromising in her dealings with others, willing to exploit them, but there’s also a chink of warmth we can see under that shell, especially for her parents. It’s a terrific performance and should bring Smith a lot more work."
- Sam Inglis, 24 Frames Per Second
"daringly unhinged performances (standouts include Grace Smith as jaded teen Joanna...in a noxious, fourth-wave cocktail."
- Lena Wilson, The Playlist
"The trio of Grace Smith, Kayla Carter and Ireon Roach are solid too, giving performances beyond their years and delivering some pretty mature dialogue in a convincing way."
- Pip Ellwood-Hughes, Entertainment Focus
- Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
"Reeder wrings fine performances from her mostly unschooled, youthful cast."
- Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
"The cast, two actresses in particular, give it their all...The most interesting is Andy’s sister Joanna (a promising Grace Smith)"
- Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"Reminiscent of Anna Kendrick, Grace Smith offers a sharp snarkiness as a smart girl with big dreams and a deeply troubled home life."
- Kristy Puchko, Riot Material
"The heartbeat of the film is young Joanna (Grace Smith)...She wears retro, homemade shirts with the names of feminist icons and liberal colleges ironed on, and wades through the pain of loss in much the same way as Anna Paquin in Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret, which is to say sometimes maturely and sometimes dangerously"
- Matthew Nerber, Third Coast Review
"Grace Smith’s journey throughout Knives and Skin stands as the most affecting (so smart, so manipulative, so vulnerable)."
- Matt Donato, Dread Central
"...the cast as a whole proves very much an embarrassment of relatively unknown riches; Grace Smith is especially remarkable as Joanna, the sister of the boy Carolyn was last seen with, bringing a believable cynicism to the table that never veers too far into too-cool-for-school precociousness."
- Shaun Munro, Flickering Myth
"Smith is a runaway train of resolute doggedness and vulnerability."
- Tracy Palmer, Signal Horizon
"Smith’s perfectly calibrated, sardonic teen rebel"
- Jake Tropila, Film Inquiry
"major standouts here are Grace Smith as Joanna...Smith puts across a character who is extremely smart and uncompromising in her dealings with others, willing to exploit them, but there’s also a chink of warmth we can see under that shell, especially for her parents. It’s a terrific performance and should bring Smith a lot more work."
- Sam Inglis, 24 Frames Per Second
"daringly unhinged performances (standouts include Grace Smith as jaded teen Joanna...in a noxious, fourth-wave cocktail."
- Lena Wilson, The Playlist
"The trio of Grace Smith, Kayla Carter and Ireon Roach are solid too, giving performances beyond their years and delivering some pretty mature dialogue in a convincing way."
- Pip Ellwood-Hughes, Entertainment Focus
MOTHER OF THE MAID (Northlight Theatre)
"Grace Smith’s scrappy Joan credibly veers between absolute confidence and equally intense neediness. Joan’s righteous arrogance might be divinely inspired, but when she’s captured by the English and forced to face the fire, all she wants is her mother. When the flames start crackling, you can almost feel her heart rate skyrocket."
- Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times
"Grace Smith is wonderful as Joan. She’s honest, tough and defiant as the Maid of Orleans, yet she offers an occasional peek at Joan’s underlying vulnerability."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
"Smith convincingly makes the transition from angsty teen to confident commander to demoralized prisoner, all while portraying a girl who made people listen to her at a time when women had no voice."
- Hayley Osborn, Newcity Stage
"Joan (the vulnerable, quixotic, confident Grace Smith)"
- Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald
"The Northlight production under the direction of BJ Jones gives Fry considerable assistance from Grace Smith as Joan. At first Smith’s Joan is an average teenager who puzzles and angers her family with her wild notions of leading a French army...Smith makes Joan’s transformation into a brutalized and doomed prisoner convincing and moving."
- Dan Zeff, Chicagoland Theatre Reviews
"Grace Smith as Joan herself fully displays the range of affect one would expect from a teenage untutored visionary, tool (later discarded tool) of the Church and of a desperate uncrowned wannabe King. In fact, Smith was intriguing to watch, portraying a radiant, focused, mad ecstasy wholly in keeping with the expected mystique."
- Debra Davy, Splash Magazine
- Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times
"Grace Smith is wonderful as Joan. She’s honest, tough and defiant as the Maid of Orleans, yet she offers an occasional peek at Joan’s underlying vulnerability."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
"Smith convincingly makes the transition from angsty teen to confident commander to demoralized prisoner, all while portraying a girl who made people listen to her at a time when women had no voice."
- Hayley Osborn, Newcity Stage
"Joan (the vulnerable, quixotic, confident Grace Smith)"
- Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald
"The Northlight production under the direction of BJ Jones gives Fry considerable assistance from Grace Smith as Joan. At first Smith’s Joan is an average teenager who puzzles and angers her family with her wild notions of leading a French army...Smith makes Joan’s transformation into a brutalized and doomed prisoner convincing and moving."
- Dan Zeff, Chicagoland Theatre Reviews
"Grace Smith as Joan herself fully displays the range of affect one would expect from a teenage untutored visionary, tool (later discarded tool) of the Church and of a desperate uncrowned wannabe King. In fact, Smith was intriguing to watch, portraying a radiant, focused, mad ecstasy wholly in keeping with the expected mystique."
- Debra Davy, Splash Magazine
THE ART OF SISTERS (Vision Productions)
"Grace Smith is especially powerful and intense" - Susan Lillis, Splash Magazine
ON CLOVER ROAD (American Blues Theater)
"Kays' cast is thrilling...Finally, there’s Grace Smith as The Girl, an acolyte whose expression becomes a beatific mask when the Prophet is near. Her robotic delivery speaks to a will that’s been neutralized, a girl who has been hollowed out until there’s nothing left but worshipful obedience."
- Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times
"Grace Smith, so delightful in Lookingglass Theatre’s “Plantation,” is a disturbing enigma as The Girl. She conveys a range of emotion that’s both ambiguous and astounding."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
"Director Kays has assembled a superbly talented ensemble...Grace Smith is terrific in the role of The Girl."
- Ed Tracy, PicksInSix
"the girl (maniacally and slyly rendered by Grace Smith)"
- Lawrence B. Johnson, Chicago on the Aisle
"a powerful performance by Grace Smith" - Alan Bresloff, Around the Town Chicago
"each performance is riveting"
- Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
- Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times
"Grace Smith, so delightful in Lookingglass Theatre’s “Plantation,” is a disturbing enigma as The Girl. She conveys a range of emotion that’s both ambiguous and astounding."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
"Director Kays has assembled a superbly talented ensemble...Grace Smith is terrific in the role of The Girl."
- Ed Tracy, PicksInSix
"the girl (maniacally and slyly rendered by Grace Smith)"
- Lawrence B. Johnson, Chicago on the Aisle
"a powerful performance by Grace Smith" - Alan Bresloff, Around the Town Chicago
"each performance is riveting"
- Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
PLANTATION! (Lookingglass Theatre)
"Thanks to a surplus of sharp one-liners and an expert, all-woman ensemble directed fluidly by David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame, the proceedings produce some ideal moments of ultra-edgy hilarity."
- Steven Oxman, Chicago Sun-Times
"PLANTATION! is a hilarious, emotionally complex play, presented by an ensemble of expertly talented actors...Smith is modern and relatable as the “woke” yet apathetic Kayley."
- Sheri Flanders, PerformInk
"As the youngest family member, Ms. Smith effectively plays a young woman whose self-medication has taken over her life and is setting her on a downward spiral."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
- Steven Oxman, Chicago Sun-Times
"PLANTATION! is a hilarious, emotionally complex play, presented by an ensemble of expertly talented actors...Smith is modern and relatable as the “woke” yet apathetic Kayley."
- Sheri Flanders, PerformInk
"As the youngest family member, Ms. Smith effectively plays a young woman whose self-medication has taken over her life and is setting her on a downward spiral."
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER (City Equity Theatre - as Jessica G. Smith)
"Jessica G. Smith as Molly Aster is the perfect blend of innocence and self-assuredness. You can see the determination in her eyes, the cockiness when she competes with the boys and yet the vulnerability of a 13 year old girl is always there, at times below the surface and at other times obvious in her wide eyed youth. Ms. Smith is a star."
- Marietta Lunceford, BroadwayWorld
"From Jessica G. Smith and Seth Burgess' charming Molly and Peter - the central characters - to Tom Wofford's understated and hysterical Smee, to Jonathan Fuller and Barry Austin's over-the-top and hysterical Black Stache and Mrs. Brumbaker, the cast is so pitch-perfect that it would be wrong not to mention them all"
- Alec Harvey, AL.com
INTERVIEWS:
From ASF to "Starcatcher", actress is enjoying time in Alabama - AL.com/Birmingham News
"Peter and the Starcatcher" sets sail for Birmingham - WELD Magazine
- Marietta Lunceford, BroadwayWorld
"From Jessica G. Smith and Seth Burgess' charming Molly and Peter - the central characters - to Tom Wofford's understated and hysterical Smee, to Jonathan Fuller and Barry Austin's over-the-top and hysterical Black Stache and Mrs. Brumbaker, the cast is so pitch-perfect that it would be wrong not to mention them all"
- Alec Harvey, AL.com
INTERVIEWS:
From ASF to "Starcatcher", actress is enjoying time in Alabama - AL.com/Birmingham News
"Peter and the Starcatcher" sets sail for Birmingham - WELD Magazine
