Providence Gap

Written & Directed by Preston Lane with Original Music by Laurelyn Dossett

About the Title:

providence- (n.) the foreseeing care and guidance of God or nature over the creatures of the earth. Or, a manifestation of divine care, direction, or foresight.
gap- (n.) an empty space or interval; interruption in continuity; hiatus. Or, a deep, sloping ravine or cleft through a mountain ridge.

About Border Radio & Country Music:

Learn more about "Border Blasters": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_blaster
"The Best Darn Story of the Whole 20th Century": http://www.ominous-valve.com/xerf.html
Early Radio History: http://earlyradiohistory.us/
The Bristol Sessions & the Birthplace of Country Music: http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/node/28
radio (from dictionary.com & Online Etymology Dictionary)
"wireless transmission with radio waves," 1907, abstracted from earlier combinations such as radiophone (1881) and radio-telegraphy (1898), from radio-, comb. form of radiation. Use for "radio receiver" is first attested 1917; sense of "sound broadcasting as a medium" is from 1922. Wireless remained more widespread until World War II, when military preference for radioturned the tables. The verb is attested from 1919.

About the Rowan Tree:

About Appalachian Music & Culture

The Digital Library of Appalachia provides access to photos and recordings of many aspects of mountain life: http://www.aca-dla.org
Here is a catalog of great Southern Appalachian musicians: http://ncvisitorcenter.com/Appalachian_Music.html

Appalachian State University has a great exhibit on music history including more info on Lulu Belle and Skyland Scotty: http://www.museum.appstate.edu/exhibits/music/pages/music.shtml
An interesting short history of Appalachian traditional music: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/appalach.htm
Avery County Arts Council : http://www.averycountyartscouncil.org/pages/artist_database.html
Folkstreams.net has plenty of amazing video archives of American folk and old time music:

"Appalachian Journey" with Alan Lomax who travels through the Southern Appalachians investigating the songs, dances, and religious rituals of the descendents of the Scotch-Irish frontiers people who have made the mountains their home for centuries. http://www.folkstreams.net/film,128
A history of rural southeastern traditional American music, as told and played by Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard: http://www.folkstreams.net/film,153
"Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old" with Alan Lomax. An examination of the talents and wisdom of elderly musicians, singers, and story-tellers, who perform not for fame or fortune but to preserve and share their culture. http://www.folkstreams.net/film,127

About Mill Workers & Mill Villages:

About World War I in France:

The main character, Chance, becomes involved in the Battle of the Argonne Forest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse-Argonne_offensive
Official American involvement in WWI (1914-1918) began in 1917.
North Carolinians in WWI from a UNC archive site: http://docsouth.unc.edu/wwi/posters.html
Wildcats Never Quit, North Carolina in World War I: http://www.archives.ncdcr.gov/wwi/
The following military history site gives a great comprehensive look at America's entry into WWI: http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/Chapter1.htm
This photo gallery of WWI is very extensive: http://www.gwpda.org/photos/greatwar.htm
Artistic renderings of WWI like that of John Singer Sargent's "Gassed, 1919" can be found here: http://madamepickwickartblog.com/?p=7932
WWI Casualty & Death Tables: http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html
Center for Disease Control & Prevention expounds upon Sulfur Mustard: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sulfurmustard/basics/facts.asp
Marianne, the historical symbol of France: http://www.france.com/docs/472.html

About Carnivals:

Here is a site that categorizes the different sights at a sideshow: http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/sideshow_carnival_oddities_and_illusions_provide_lessons_for_skeptics/
Carny slang: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_'carny'_slang
A brief history of carnivals including the etymology: http://www.pacificnews.org/jinn/stories/3.17/970814-carnival.html
Though the television series Carnivàle was not a direct influence on this play, the magical nature of the show & other similarities are worth noting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carniv%C3%A0le

About Piedras Negras:

Piedras Negras translates as "black rocks" because the coal deposits found near the Mexican town: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedras_Negras,_Coahuila;
Collection of postcards that happens to have a couple good ones of the border (images enlarge here): http://www.theultimatepersonalchef.com/ReavisPics.htm

Piedras Negras: the central square and the entrance to the town from the Texas border.

For more information about the play, visit our website: http://www.triadstage.org/mainstage/providence/index.php

Created by Drew Barker (www.triadstage.org)

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