Most of the cast of 51 were crowded onto the tiny stage of the Banff Auditorium, making it even trickier for the trick roper.

Scene from Stampede, 1946. Photo #M07 01 28.

Stampede, by Gwen Pharis Ringwood, was premiered by the Banff School of Fine Arts in August, 1946. Ringwood had begun her career as a playwright at the Banff School and was one of the first successful Canadian authors to dramatize prairie life. She set this play in 1912, at the time of the first Calgary Stampede, and wove together themes, legends and songs from the cowboy culture of the great ranching era.

The roper Slim was played by Allan Kerr and the cast included a youthful Bruno Gerussi. The theatre is now the Banff Park Information Centre.