Chip searches for his father in the mines of central Alberta between the wars.
Produced by Tyrrell Museum Theatre, Drumheller AB, February 2005
Keywords: underground coal mining, fathers and sons, Alberta industry
Genre: Drama
Run time: 80 minutes
Acts: 1
Cast size: 6
Male roles: 4
Female roles: 2
Doubled roles: 23
Maximum # of roles: 26
Minimum # of roles: 6
Suitable for students aged 16+
"This is a moving story of coalmining in the Drumheller region -- informative and evocative. It tracks the life of a miner's son through significant stages of Canadian history: the Spanish influenza, Prohibition, Depression, WWII, until the closing of the mines. Each scene captures the mood of the time through the response of the characters. The dialogue is spare, with occasional lyrical speeches which express the attraction of mining life and the work underground. There is humour and pathos, and indirect social commentary on unions, strikes, governments. A complete and compelling portrait of a mining community is drawn . . . fills in the details of Alberta's history. The tone is positive, the characters likeable, much like the plays of W.O. Mitchell or Thornton Wilder."
--Anne Nothof, editor, The Alberta Advantage
--Anne Nothof, editor, The Alberta Advantage
“Koller’s play captures essence of life in coal town”
--O.R. Sheddy, The Drumheller Mail
“Coal Valley accurately depicts life in the valley’s coal mines”
--Isabell Fooks, The Valley Times