A Christmas Carol With a Twist will screen at the Jasper Legion

A play about Christmas Past is helping strengthen Jasper’s future.

For the last three years, former Jasperite Ryan Chabrel-Davis has been living in Vancouver, trying to break into the acting scene. 

That hasn’t been easy, but even harder was watching the devastation caused by the Jasper Wildfire from afar, he said. The 22-year-old said in the wake of the incident, he was desperate to try to make a difference for the community he grew up in.

“I wanted to put together an initiative to help out the town from here in Vancouver while doing what I know how to do best: act,” he said.

Together with friends and classmates, the budding thespian wanted to put on a play that would suit the season and hopefully help create some much needed laughs. He and his peers settled on A Christmas Carol With A Twist, a comedy which has at its heart the message that even in our darkest days, there are moments of light.

“In our lives, stress is higher than ever to make things perfect,” he said. “But it’s inevitable that stuff is always going to go wrong. What can we get out of that? What can we learn?”

In cooking up the production, he had plenty of experience of things going wrong to lean on. It was Chabrel-Davis’ first foray into directing and producing, and not long after he had the 12-member production cast, half of the actors had to pull out, for various reasons.

“We really had to knuckle-down,” he said of the remaining group.

The show must go on, however, and on December 18 and 19, the curtains lifted at Vancouver Community College’s Broadway Campus. Before they did, Chabrel-Davis was a ball of nerves.

“But being nervous means you want it,” he said.

On opening night, it was gratifying to finally get in front of a live audience, to find out what jokes “hit” and which ones needed a bit more work. 

“We all finished that day feeling proud, but tired,” Chabrel-Davis said.

Stakes were high for the second showing, the next evening. The production would be filmed, so the cast and crew knew whatever performance they gave was going to be on the record.

“I don’t know what it was, but the energy in the room that night was terrific,” Chabrel-Davis said. 

The theatre was full of well-wishers and donations to the Jasper Community Caring Fund were pouring in.

“I think this was my first moment when I truly realized that what we’re doing is making a difference and going to help people,” he said.

Chabrel-Davis said he has been inspired by the residents of the community he still considers home.

“I knew how strong our community was. But still, to see how quickly that people stepped up, that made me realize even more what we have in Jasper,” he said.

A screening of A Christmas Carol With A Twist is set for viewing at 7 p.m. on January 11 at the Jasper Legion. Stay tuned to The Jasper Legion’s Facebook page for details. 

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com