Two Christmas plays were presented on December 13 and 14 by the Little Theater group. The first play was "Solitare" directed by Joy Cameron and the second play was "Guest at the Inn" directed by Helen Meals.
Earle Spicer, a ballad singer, gave an concert in Bosler Hall on November 9th. The program included "Barabar Allen", "Tit Willow", and "When I was a Lad".
Six freshman plays were performed in the Little Theatre on December 11 and 12. The plays were How to Propose, Spoon River Anthology, The Third Angle, People in the Wind, Bus Stop, The Still Alarm, and Aria De Capo.
The Mermaid Players hosted three different plays, written and directed by students and theater majors. The first play, "The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis," was a story about a group of women who go to a country club for a day and their experiences there. The second play, "Riders to the Sea," was a play about an Irish family whose six sons have died. The final play, "the Woolgatherers," was about two people looking for "tenderness in a lonely, sometimes inhuman world." The plays opened on May 6th at 8 p.m., May 7th at 3 p.m.
The Dance Theatre Group (DTG) celebrated National Dance Week with their spring concert. The show opened on April 28th and 29th at 8 p.m. and also showed on April 30th at 3 p.m. The show had a huge variety: some pieces were influenced by jazz and others found their influence in opera music. The show represented the end of their time in DTG for the graduating seniors.
Eddie Money performed at Dickinson College on Sunday, April 23rd. While some students attended the concert, others objected to the Concert Committee's selection and the cost. These students argued that the Committee's had selected an artist that yielded a low turn out and resulted in a loss of approximately $19,000.
The chamber choir performed the works of the resident composer Robert Convery on April 26th at 8 p.m. in the Rubendall Recital Hall. Convery was, at the time, finishing his doctoral studies at Julliard and commuting to Carlisle to help teach courses at Dickinson. Most of Convery's works were funny and satirical, written specifically for chamber choirs and for flutes, violins, cellos, harpsichords.
The Trout Gallery offered the chance to students who had taken studio art classes that year to display their works within the gallery. The range of works was large, from sculpture to photography, showing the campus and Carlisle community the talent of the student artists at Dickinson. The opening reception called "Annual Studio Students Show" was held on Friday, April 14th.
Two folk artists, Kirk Kelly and Roger Manning, performed for Dickinson on April 14th and on April 28th. Ticket costs ranged from $2 to $3. Students were excited for these artists due to their unique sound.
The production "Twelve Angry Jurors", directed by a student, was performed on April 8th and on April 9th. The premise of the play was to portray the prejudice found within a supposedly pure justice system in America.
Comedian Mike Saccone performed for Dickinson students on Friday, March 31st. Students were impressed with his comedic genius but were disappointed with the length of his performance finding it to be too short.
A folk group, Jim and Dale, performed in the Social Hall as part of their national tour. The concert was sponsored by the Holland Union Program Board and Social Committee.
Taylor Mason, a comedian, performed for the campus on March 11th. Taylor Mason was a former writer for Second City Theatre in Chicago and performed his own shows at Zanies in Chicago. He had also made numerous t.v. appearances and worked with other comedians. His show at Dickinson involved funny songs that he sang and the use of ventriloquism all with references to popular culture of the 1980s. His show was deemed a success by students, due to his use of clever and accessible humor.
"Magic of the Mind Show" performed on Friday, March 10th and was hosted by CAB. Craig Karges's, a mentalist, performed tricks for the audience, banishing their skepticism of the power of the mind.
On March 14th, Ragtime Era returned to campus and performed a traditional 1920s ragtime show. The two visiting artists that performed were Karen Saillant and Don Kawash.
The play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" performed on March 4th as part of the Multicultral week at Dickinson. The play consisted of monologues from women, who did not have names but were simply known for the colors that they wore, which all contained similar themes and commented on the social issues of the day, specifically the issues for African-American women.
The College hosted a Soviet Film Series that started on February 28th and ended on March 2nd. Each film was shown in Bosler 208 at 8 p.m. A few of the films shown were "Scarecrow", "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", and "Commissar."
On November 4th, Will Stutts performed the one-man show "An Evening with Mark Twain." The show, which was held in Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium (ATS), was a product that took Stutts a year and a half of research to complete and the show was constantly growing and changing.
Renaissance, a classical rock group, performed in the Dining Hall on April 29 as part of Spring Fest. Their most popular albums are "Ashes are Burning" and "Live at Carnegie Hall".
The Mermaid Players presented Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" from April 20-24.
Cornelius Sullivan, a member of Philadelphia Opera Company, performed a concert at Dickinson on February 22, 1979. He sung "Ich Grolle Night", "Intermezzo", and "Widmung' by Robert Schumann, "Don Qioter a Dulcineee" by Mauice Ravel, and "Silent Noon" by Vaughan Williams.
Songfest, which was an annual Homecoming event sponsored by Wheel & Chain, the Raven's Claw, CAB, the Homecoming Committee, Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), BACCHUS, and the Student Alumni Council, was held on November 5th. The event allowed for students and faculty members to perform different songs and pieces throughout the night: there was a total of 17 acts. During the show, the Wheel & Chain members asked for donations for the Presidential Scholarship and the ODK new members were tapped.
Hypnotist James J. Mapes performed at Dickinson on September 23rd. His program, entitled "PSI: A Journey into the Imagination," included the hypnotism of some student volunteers on stage as well as a few audience members. Mr. Mapes, before doing shows, worked as the director of the New York Hypnosis Center. Mapes concluded his show with an explanation of the more practical applications of hypnosis, such as using it to relieve pain for cancer patients, rather than solely using it for its entertainment value.
David Bromberg and his six piece band played in the dining hall on February 22nd. While most of their music was a typical blues style, they also played Irish jigs, waltzes, and funk music.
Mermaid Players' performed Camino Real from February 15-19 in Mathers Theatre. The play was originally performed in New York in 1953 and was written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Elia Kazan.