Take a trip through history with the School of Creative and Performing Arts with their production of Women of the Fur Trade
By Abbas Hussain, November 7 2025—
The School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) at the University of Calgary is known for the quality productions that it runs throughout a season. The department was formed in 2013, following a merger between the Drama, Dance and Music departments. The Women of the Fur Trade by Frances Koncan is a show that will run from Nov. 1 to 9.
In an interview with the Gauntlet, the student producer for the Women of Fur Trade, Bradley Gamborski, talked about their experience helping to bring this alive.
Gamborski briefly explains the premise of the play. Discussing how the play follows three women who are talking about the history of the fur trade, with appearances by men who were involved in that process. The play attempts to strike a balance between being historically accurate and humorous.
“A part of the drama program here at UCalgary is to take on a practicum at some point in your degree.” said Gamborski. “DRAMA 391, which is the first practicum you take on but for [me,] I’m doing it for extra credits. You can take up to four practicums for credit for senior level drama courses.”
Gamborski spoke about how previous practicums have helped him prepare for this role.
“I transferred from Concordia in Edmonton. I did one practicum as an actor. I found when I was working as an actor on set, there’s a lot of things I had to keep an eye for rehearsal logs, taking notes on the production and trying to make sure you get the lines right,” he said.
“I switched it when I got here, I wanted to focus more on producing and a little bit of directing and writing. When I got into doing production last semester, it was my first chance producing for theatre, as I was producing for film [previously]. I found it was very helpful to learn from a lot of the mentors in the faculty and what it would be like to be a producer, and how that industry works for theatre and differs from film,” Gamborski continued.
When asked about what excites Gamborski about this production, he says the history deals with the question of where we came from with a bit of a lighthearted take on colonization.
“We do have to take some time to learn our histories and where we come from [though] sometimes we are not ready for the heavy truth and sometimes. I like plays that ease you into it, especially since colonization has such a dark past and it is something that we can not override. We have to learn from that especially. It’s exciting watching a history play that isn’t in your face about it,” Gamborski said.
The Women of the Fur Trade play is on from Nov. 1 to 9. Students get one free ticket each using the code ‘CYSFREE’ while Alumni and Staff receive 50 per cent off tickets on two tickets using the ‘ALUM’ and ‘MYUC’ codes respectively. Check out the other events put on by the SCPA on their website.