Historical Story

ROANOKE

by Brittany Vance & Amanda Barwick

Artist's Statement:

Well, as far as my approach to this project, I mainly focused on collaboration and contribution of new ideas since it was Brittany’s fabulous script idea that we went with. It was easier than I thought to collaborate on a script. One of us outlined the story while the other researched some sources about Roanoke, and then we switched, approved or edited each other’s work, and jointly wrote the script one section at a time. Our writing styles meshed pretty well, and it helped that we had outlined the plot beforehand and both knew where the story was going.

I enjoyed how the readings of this week made a historical story into a narrative that was less concerned with historical fact than it was with character emotion. In “Vivian, Fort Barnwell,” Ethan Canin writes about a memory that he’d unknowingly fabricated about his mother based on a picture he’d seen years ago. Whether his recollection was misplaced in time or completely imaginary, the story he created is integral in expressing his attitude towards his childhood and his mother. We tried to tie down certain facts in our own story to history, but mostly left the story loose to accommodate for fictionalization.

As for outside sources, we read up on the archaeological, anthropological, and historical studies done on the lost colony of Roanoke. The recently discovered map of the shoreline near the colony made by John White in the 1580’s is the reason Tristan is trying to find the island based off a map. White was also the man to describe the wooden post (or tree, depending on the source) with the word “Croatoan” carved into it (The Telegraph). There was also a gold signet ring dug up at a site near the island, which he fictionally assigned to be Tristan’s wedding band. The rocks with the names on them are a reference to the Dare Stones, a series of stones in the late 1930’s that hold the names and story of the colonists. The stones are most likely frauds, but it added to the mysterious and sinister mood to our script. The map, the ring, and the stones are the concrete historical facts tied to Roanoke that we let our story elaborate and grow out of. We also felt that it couldn’t have a happy ending because of the unknown fate of the settlers there. Our story revolves around the mystery surrounding the missing colony and the island they settled on where "provisions [were] dwindling" (Horn). Our script is a blend of modern horror storytelling and historical fact.

Sources:
"Ancient map gives clues to fate of 'Lost Colony'." The Telegraph. 4 May 2012         
          http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9244947/Ancient-map-gives-clue-to-fate-of-Lost-Colony.html

Horn, James. "Roanoke's Lost Colony Found?." American Heritage 60.1 (2010): 60-65. World 

          History Collection. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

          https://www-lib-byu-edu.erl.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/remoteauth.pl?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.erl.lib.byu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=wdh&AN=48559237&site=ehost-live&scope=site