To craft a mystery set in a town he’s never been to, Roman Danylo taps cab drivers.
They are the folks with their ears to the ground and fingers curled around the pulse of a city.
“Cab drivers are a wealth of information,” says Danylo, who’ll be cracking a case in Maple Ridge this weekend. “They know all the parts of town that are dangerous, the local landmarks or the personalities. They are my best source of reference.”
Based on Danylo’s YouTube sketch, The David Caruso School of Acting, CSI Maple Ridge is a farcical take on the popular TV show set against the geographic backdrops of Pitt Meadows and downtown Haney.
Imagine the murder takes place at ‘Haney House,’ the killer hides out at ‘The Ramada Inn,’ is chased down ‘ Lougheed Highway’ and escapes in a kayak stolen from ‘Ayla Canoe Rentals.’ After careful DNA testing and enhancing a blurry photo, the killer is revealed to be none other than the ‘Beast’ riding on a sturgeon down the Fraser drinking blueberry wine from Blue Heron Fruit Winery.
“There will be names and personalities and locations that everyone in the audience will recognize,” promises Danylo. “I can tell you this much, the one place that people know as the pick-up joint in town will be featured.”
Joining Danylo on stage will be Vancouver Theatresports League veterans Nathan Clark and Denise Jones who’ll help bring some of his favourite Comedy Inc. sketches to life.
Danylo is a big fan of the red-haired Miami detective played by Caruso.
“Imitation is the best form of flattery. To me, he’s a lot like Shatner,” says Danylo. “He is the saviour of everybody and he is super confident and cocky. Both him and Shatner make no mistakes, they always solve the problems. I don’t know anybody like that in real life.”
Bringing Lieut. Horatio Caine to life requires more than just a ginger wig.
Danylo throws in some random squatting, never looks anyone in the eye and dons Lieut. Caine’s dark signature sunglasses.
“There is this weird sing-song in his voice,” says Danylo as he morphs into the celebrated crime scene investigator. “There is an emphasis on words that you wouldn’t expect and extra vibrato at the end of sentences. You also have to say your last line and bolt.”
Danylo has appeared in several Canadian TV series including CTV’s Corner Gas, CBC’s Just For Laughs, CBC’s Made in Canada, and has taped two stand-up specials for CTV’s Comedy Now. For five seasons, he starred in a sketch comedy series on CTV and Spike TV called Comedy Inc.
• CSI Maple Ridge plays the ACT at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tickets are $27 for adults and $20 for students.
