The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

Once Upon a Dibden dreary

Heike Chaney February 20, 2024

Many of us know of Edgar Allan Poe, Victorian writer, author, and poet, and of the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. Academic scholars say that sometime after October 7, 1849, a Baltimore...

Alice in Danceland

Alice in Danceland

Annika Cooper December 10, 2023

Danceland is a show that was held at the Dibden Center for the Arts, on the VTSU-Johnson campus, on December 1 and 2, and starting at 7p.m.  The show was hosted by the Vermont State University Dance...

Neo-Futurist Chaos

Neo-Futurist Chaos

Jill Pressman November 8, 2023

Coming November 9-12 to Dibden Center for the Arts: 30 Neo-Futurist Plays from Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 minutes). “Having opened in 1988 and still playing today as the...

Laura Roald

Twelfth Night with a twist

Dayne Bell March 14, 2023

Polaris Production Company’s next production is in the works, and this one might be the queerest of them all. The piece chosen was “Twelfth Night,” a contemporary musical adaptation written and composed...

Unburn Me poster

Unburn Me: Dibden’s latest

Kyle Gagnon, Sports Editor November 18, 2021

On Nov. 4, I caught the opening night of “Unburn Me,” presented by NVU-Johnson’s new theater company “Polaris” and directed by Laura Roald. Though I was a theater kid in high school, I am a little...

The lonely light on an empty Dibden stage

Burned but not forgotten

Opal Savoy, Editor In Chief October 28, 2021

Upon entering the mainstage of Dibden, you can see a single light bulb on a long stalk as it sits patiently in the middle of the stage. The unshielded source casts a brilliant luminescence on the room...

Jay Kraven

Semester Cinema to produce “Lost Nation”

Delilah Kramer, Staff Reporter October 14, 2021

This upcoming winter, 40 students from various colleges, including Wellesley, Skidmore, Hamilton and Northern Vermont University, will gather for a semester to produce a feature film titled “Lost Nation.” Jay...

Dibden puts on virtual show

Opal Savoy, Web Editor March 18, 2021

“The Monument,” written and performed by Northern Vermont University-Johnson students, brings small town life in the COVID age to the small screen. The homegrown project, done in collaboration with...

Jacob M. Muther and Maddie Anna in a scene outside of the main house party.

A terrific performance with a terrible script

Rebecca Flieder, Editor-in-Chief February 20, 2020

After watching “Good Kids” put on by Dibden last weekend, all I can say is, “Okay, boomer.” I should preface this and give my congratulations to the cast, who ran well with a poorly written...

(Left to right, top:) Emoji Nightmare, Nikki Champagne, Farrah Nuff; (Bottom) Tom Poodiack

Clothes make the woman

Soleil Devyn Borthwick, Staff Reporter February 20, 2020

Not often in my life do I have experiences that I would call enlightening or rapturous. In the Stearns Performance Space a few Thursdays ago, I had one such experience. The catalyst was a drag show hosted...

Mal Maiz

Creative Audience offers a widely diverse array of events

Adriana Eldred, Photo & Web Editor February 10, 2020

Every semester is jam-packed with interesting and thought-provoking events, and this semester is no exception – however, there are a few changes in the works that will continue to improve the creative...

A study of the Branwell Bronte original painting, used as a prop in the Dibden performance

Brontë: a family affair

Allison Irons November 22, 2019

“Brontë,” directed by Laura Roald, made its debut at Dibden Center for the Arts Nov. 7 -10. Roald has directed a number of plays including “Macbeth” and “Nine” at NVU-Johnson. “Brontë”...

Open Ring Circus dances through the flames in Dibden

Open Ring Circus dances through the flames in Dibden

Allison Irons, Staff Reporter October 24, 2019

On Oct. 1, the Dibden Center for the Arts welcomed Open Ring Circus to perform “Coated: 1944 Circus Fire Project,” an interactive acrobatic and dance production. From the performance’s playbill:...

Tim Mikovitz, Dibden Center for the Arts tech director

Catamount Arts to bring new acts to Dibden

Ari Erlbaum September 20, 2019

Tim Mikovitz, technical director at Dibden Center for the Arts, is excited about the space’s future, in large part due to a new partnership with Catamount Arts. “I think Dibden is or should be the...

It is a glorious thing to watch“Pirates”

Magnificent Schmidl May 9, 2019

April 25-28, NVU Johnson’s theatre department put on the comic opera "Pirates of Penzance," directed by Erik Kroncke, a vocal teacher here at NVU-Johnson. I went to the first performance on Thursday,...

Macbeth and the three witches on the Dibden Stage

Bloody, bold, and resolute

Ciarra Annis February 21, 2019

One of Shakespeare’s best known plays took the stage at Dibden Center for the Arts Feb. 14-17... “Macbeth” was directed by Laura Roald, who previously directed “Nine” also at Dibden. This “Macbeth”...

“Mr. Burns” perplexes despite valiant cast efforts

Danielle Christina December 6, 2018

A hush falls over the crowd as four actors march onto the stage, silently taking a seat in dilapidated furniture. The dappled lighting casts star-like shapes across the actors’ faces, the ceiling, and...

Catie Roman and Theron Anderson

Defying expectations in Dibden

Kylie Brown November 9, 2018

"Defying Gravity" defied my expectations. "Defying Gravity" was NVU- Johnson student Jessica DeRosa’s senior thesis project for her BA in theater and drama. DeRosa directed the show and gave a brief...

Kavi Ade and Vision

Mending Masculinity through poetry

Kylie Brown October 2, 2018

Kavi Ade and Vision are not only mending masculinity, but also spreading mass amounts of inspiration and healing energy one poetry performance at a time. Both of them are nationally recognized poets...

Lida Winfield

Growing up dyslexic

Patrick Bell April 26, 2018

On March 27, JSC welcomed Lida Winfield to Dibden to put on her dance performance, “In Search Of Air: Growing Up Dyslexic.” She was born with dyslexia and had trouble coping with everyday life,...

Original play offers unique look at mental illnesses

Cayla Fronhofer April 14, 2017

The theater is dark and quiet until white lights suddenly sweep across the stage, accompanied by the sound of a car’s engine. It quiets, white lights shift to red, and the sound of a blinker is heard....

A behind-the-scenes look at “Beauty Queen of Leenane”

Caroline Loftus March 23, 2017

In the dark, winding halls of the Dibden Center of Performing Arts, Emily Pike, special effects makeup specialist, frantically looks for the gelatin-based prosthetic molding compound she uses to make life-like...

Dark wit and shocking twists in “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”

Dark wit and shocking twists in “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”

Cayla Fronhofer February 16, 2017

Walking into the Dibden auditorium, it seems as if no one is there. All of the seats are empty and the heavy blue curtains are drawn across the stage. Tentatively, I step onto the stage and am ushered...

The cast thanks the crew at the end of the show

Shakespearian comedy brings hilarity to the Dibden stage

Cayla Fronhofer November 10, 2016

The works of William Shakespeare are among the most timeless stories in history. They have been reworked and reimagined time and time again, and now “Much Ado About Nothing” has come to the Dibden...

Cody Logan leads Sit Down, Youre Rockin the Boat

An iconic musical comes to Dibden

Cayla Fronhofer May 5, 2016

For their final play of the year, the cast and crew of Dibden brought to life the 1950 musical “Guys and Dolls.” The play’s main story follows a cast of characters living in New York City during...

Cody Logan and Carolyn Larabee dance to “Crazy in Love”

Dance club performance well-rounded

Marilyn Tagliavia December 17, 2015

This semester’s Johnson State College dance club performance, a campus event always highly anticipated and well-attended by the JSC community, was well-rounded and found a good balance throughout dance...

Jury members Patrick Monaghan, Shawn Weibel, Neil Bresnahan, Jody Kifner, Sam Lewis, Tim Melville, and Josh Baughn deliberate

Gunn’s “12 Angry Men” offers a provocative view of rough justice

Briana Morin December 17, 2015

The Johnson community got a glimpse into the complicated and controversial world of courtroom drama when the classic “12 Angry Men” was performed on the Dibden stage. “12 Angry Men” was written...

Grease brings Rydell High to JSC

“Grease” brings Rydell High to JSC

Marilyn Tagliavia, Managing editor May 7, 2015

Johnson State College’s Dibden stage became Rydell High in the school’s portrayal of “Grease” April 23-25. Director Patrick Sawyer-Houle sought to bring the musical back to its raunchy and quirky...

Performance a success after minimal rehearsal time

Performance a success after minimal rehearsal time

Marilyn Tagliavia April 23, 2015

With dance club being one of the biggest, if not the biggest club on campus, Dibden’s 500 seat capacity auditorium is typically close to packed with the JSC community, family and friends each and every...

Patrick Houle

Houle can’t wait to grease up Dibden

Chelsea Bingham, Staff Writer February 18, 2015

An iconic American musical, Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s "Grease" will be performed on the Dibden stage April 22-24. Directing the play will be Patrick Houle, JSC alumnus and part-time professor of...

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