Inspector Clouseau is on the case, for the theatre production of "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" at the Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre.
"The Pink Panther Strikes Again" will be staged at the Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre from Wednesday to Sunday, August 8 to 12.
The Wednesday to Saturday performances are at 8 p.m., and the Sunday matinee is at 2 p.m.
Kjel Sidloski will play the famous Inspector Clouseau and the actor has enjoyed working with young actors during the Youth Development Summer Theatre Program. "It has been great to see the kids grow from the first time I saw them, into when we have switched over into joining with the adult program," said Sidloski. "You can really see their confidences grow and their ability to project throughout the whole theatre."
Right now, both the adult and the children participants of the Summer Theatre Program are working on the script of "The Pink Panther Strikes Again".
"I think it is good for the children to be watching everyone else, so they can apply what they learned from what they see on stage from the more experienced actors," said Sidloski.
For his role of Inspector Clouseau, Sidloski said "it is a great role. It is one of those characters that you never forget. I think it will stick with me for the rest of my life."
In the play, Clouseau, the world's most unusual criminologist, mu st solve his most bizarre and dangerous case ever, while avoiding assassins from all around the world that try to kill him. The play is written by William Gleason and it is directed by John Nolan.
Sidloski described the Inspector Clouseau role as "over-the-top" and said it allows him the opportunity to be as crazy as he wants to be on stage. "We have a lot of big kids who are involved in the program and the younger ones are acting as 'Pink Panthers'," said Carol Reeve, another actor in the play.
The two major leads are played by young actors, with Kjel as Clouseau and Jade Rooney as Dreyfus. "They have so much energy and they are so focused on what they are doing," said Reeve.
"They have both amazed me, as Kjel has the biggest bulk of the lines to learn and Jade has the second," said Reeve. "They have accents down pat already and their physicality is really good on how they have to interrelate with some of the other actors."
There is something for everyone in the format of "The Pink Panther Strikes Again". "It will be a good comedy. The staging is very good, it is minimal stage set for it," said Reeve. "The play is geared to give our young people opportunity and most of the community will want to see how they are developing."
"You might think that Inspector Clouseau is just slap-stick comedy, but it is more than that," said Reeve. "There are moments in there that takes people back and underneath the comedy there are some basic truths to life going on."
This was the second year that Sidloski was the summer student at the Tommy Douglas Centre. He found the Youth Development Summer Theatre Program to be very rewarding.
"I haven't had the opportunity before this to take a role of leadership in creating a program and directing the program," said Sidloski. "I had to decide how I would teach children and what would be the best for them. It also helped me grow in confidence in my own abilities."
There was a small group of children involved in the Youth Development Summer Theatre Program again. But Sidloski said that there are advantages to working with a small group.
Tickets for "The Pink Panther Strikes Again" are available at Superior Office Products, Signal Hill Arts Centre and the Tommy Douglas Centre. They cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students and $10 for children. Group rates are available.
