Jennifer Jasper has been rocking the Northwest theater scene for more than two decades. She is a triple threat artist acclaimed for acting, stand-up comedy and directing alike. Known for her consummate storytelling, her pristine timing and her intuitive director’s eye, Jennifer is a highly respected and much loved fixture in the Seattle live performance community.
Jennifer landed in Seattle in 1988 when the improvisational company she co-founded, Kings’ Elephant Theatre, relocated from Albuquerque, NM. Kings’ Elephant attracted an adventurous, loyal following for their original long form improvisational pieces and scripted plays. After a decade of critical and commercial success with Kings’ Elephant, Jennifer went on to co-found Vixen Productions (1995-2005). This all-woman company toured and performed nationally and was featured at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival in 1999 and again in 2003.
As an actor Jennifer possesses an uncanny capacity for creating memorable characters that are colorful, often outlandish and always emotionally authentic. One of her most popular is the scotch-swilling, hard-living “Maggie,” a frequent emcee on Seattle’s vibrant burlesque circuit and the featured hostess for the Von Foxies, a popular cabaret troupe that performed in Seattle from 2004 to 2009.
Although she is a top-notch ensemble actor, some of Jennifer’s most brilliant work to date has been in her one-woman shows and stand-up comedy performances. Frequently drawing on her upbringing in Santa Fe, Jennifer crafts lively stories that are keenly timed and fiercely entertaining to a wide range of audiences. She has performed at numerous comedy clubs throughout the region. In 2008, by invitation, she created an 80-minute, one-woman show for the Red Onion Saloon in Alaska. In April of 2010 Jennifer’s autobiographical show “Middle” was featured at the Seattle Solo Performance Festival.
Jennifer is as adept at directing as she is at performing onstage, and has lent her intuitive hand to many outstanding productions. Her most recent directing endeavors include Sgt. Rigsby’s Amazing Silhouettes in “Teensploitation” (2009) by Seattle playwright Scot Augustson. Also in 2009, she directed “Keefee’s House of Cards,” written by Stephen Hando, who played the leading role. The show was wildly successful and was remounted in the spring of 2010, with Jennifer once again in the director’s chair.
Jennifer received her BA in directing from the University of New Mexico. She is currently developing a one-woman show for Printer’s Devil Theater, where she is a revered company member.
Contact Jennifer at vixenjenn@comcast.net