by Sam McBride

Community theatre returned to Trail, British Columbia in the fall of 1977 with performances of the classic melodrama “Dirty Work at the Crossroads” by the new theatre club Trail Theatre Unlimited. The group included several newcomers as well as veterans of the former Trail Little Theatre group which was active for a number of years.

With some start-up funding provided by the Trail and District Arts Council, an initial organizing meeting got the ball rolling for a non-profit society that would present a variety of shows well into the 1980s. Several of the members were also volunteers with the long-established Rossland Light Opera Players.

The group examined options for its debut show, and decided that “Dirty Work at the Crossroads” featuring classic character stereotypes from the 1890s era would be fun for participants and audiences. A night of auditions was held, which included acting roles as well as appointment of volunteers for set construction, lighting, costumes, publicity and tickets. The show had a small audience — maybe about 50 — on its opening night, with more on the second night and closing night, large thanks to ample coverage by the Trail Daily Times newspaper. The Times editor at that time, Jack Fisher, was a veteran of several Rossland Light Opera Players shows, as both an actor and director.

We were also very fortunate that graphic artist George Bourchier designed and produced a superb design for our posters. The design was also used for the front of the show’s program, attached below, which provides an outline of the plot and list of characters. The first show was at the MacLean School Annex in Rossland, and the next two performances were at the Trail Junior High Auditorium, which today is known as the Charles Bailey Theatre.

script for the show from the performance rights company. As I recall, we paid $25 in royalties for each performance. We kept further costs to a minimum, thanks to donations from Cominco and other donors. This gave the group a base for its next show, “The Mousetrap”, presented in the spring of 1978.