Jason Stockfish | [email protected]
On a gorgeous summer鈥檚 eve, locals packed the house for the opening night of Jasper Theater Productions鈥� highly anticipated play, 鈥淔rom Jasper With Love.鈥�
In what was the first in a string of 70 performances, the founders of Jasper Theater Productions, Joost Tijssen and Peter van Loon, performed their two-person live theatre act with the skill and confidence that can only come from years of professional training and experience.
With incredible soundscapes, impeccable choreography and a brilliant script, Tijssen and van Loon performed a series of hilarious Jasper-centric sketches intended as a tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale to visitors on how not to fall head over heels for this small mountain town nestled amongst majestic peaks, stunning glacial waters and all the beauty nature has to offer.
鈥淭he premise, in short, is that we try to protect people from falling in love with Jasper鈥� because the risk is that you just want to move here and leave it all behind; your friends, your family, everything,鈥� Tijssen said half-jokingly.
The audience was in stitches as the two actors portrayed visitors rushing from one iconic location to another, attempting to take in the many sights of Jasper National Park in but a few short hours.
Two recurring characters in the play Eddy鈥攁n elk who is suffering from an identity crisis, furious that he is constantly overlooked by tourists searching for other, more interesting creatures鈥攁nd his psychologist, Dr. Bert, had the crowd roaring with laughter.
It was sketch comedy at its finest.
While the production is the first in Jasper for the two-person troupe, it is far from either performer鈥檚 first time on a stage.
Tijssen and van Loon hail from Holland, where they worked as actors and directors after receiving their Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts.
After moving to Jasper in 2021, Tijssen and van Loon created Jasper Theater Productions.
Earlier this year, van Loon offered five weeks of acting lessons for children, teens and adults.
鈥淲e鈥檙e happy to get theatre going in Jasper and we鈥檙e just looking forward to an amazing summer where we can hopefully bring some laughs and joy to the evening public.鈥�
Tijssen said that their goal with the production is to provide visitors with some fun context when encountering the sights depicted in the performance while travelling through Jasper National Park.
鈥淲e鈥檙e giving them tips and tricks about how not to fall in love with Jasper but as you can imagine, people will fall in love with Jasper.鈥�
鈥淔rom Jasper With Love'' is performed Tuesday through Saturday at the Lobstick Lodge and runs from June 28 until Oct. 1.
Doors open at 7 p.m. for those looking to mingle while enjoying drinks on the patio overlooking Jasper and the show begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available online at
While the play may give visitors reasons to head for the park gates, the addition of professional theatre in the evenings has only given locals one more reason to love Jasper.
