Forming a new friendship with someone in your 40s is challenging enough; try doing it if you’re an introvert. Writer/director Andrew DeYoung’s comedy “Friendship” is a hilariously dark look at male bonding with a leading performance from Tim Robinson that audiences won’t soon forget.  Where to begin with this movie? I guess, for starters, a…

By James Kent CASTLETON—On a cold May 20 morning, school bus after school bus began to pull into the Castleton University parking lot after 9 a.m. More than 2,200 registered high-school students and other attendees arrived for the inaugural Bring Back the Trades event in Vermont. Bring Back the Trades, a New Hampshire organization recognizes…

By James Kent Thursday, May 29 at 4 p.m.—KILLINGTON — The senior class of Killington Mountain School (KMS) will trade their ski gear for menus as they take over The Foundry at Summit Pond for a special fundraising event. In a unique partnership between KMS and the Karr Group, the evening will feature the 2025…

‘Presence’ is available to stream on-demand After director Steven Soderbergh’s planned 2013 theatrical film, “Behind the Candelabra,” ran into funding difficulties and eventually landed on HBO for a cable release, the prolific director announced his retirement. In what is, perhaps, the shortest retirement in filmmaking history, Soderbergh was back with his short-lived, though compelling, two-season…

Director Jeremy Workman’s documentary, “Secret Mall Apartment,” spins a crazy yarn about a group of Rhode Island street artists who, in a brazen and ingenious-level piece of establishment corporate defiance, fooled the Providence Place security for four years by building a secret apartment within a hidden nook of the mall structure. Artist Michael Townsend is…

By James Kent If you’ve driven past the corner of West Street and Main in Rutland around lunchtime in the past few months, chances are you’ve recognized the food truck with the big pig chef logo on the side and large letters spelling out "Hangry Hogg" with the tagline, “Put some South in your mouth.”…

By James Kent Wednesday, May 14 at 5:30 p.m.—WOODSTOCK —The curtain rises on a heartwarming production this spring as Zack’s Place presents its annual community play at the Woodstock Town Hall Theatre. Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted to support the nonprofit’s enriching programs for adults with developmental disabilities. The Zack’s Place theater…

By James Kent BORING, or the Bureau of Regional Inter-existential Non-Governmental Goings-on (at least I think that’s what the acronym stands for), is the waiting queue you don’t want to find yourself in unless you are the seven talented women in Circus Springboard’s “Thank You For Waiting,” who know how to manage a Kafka-esque crisis—through…

By James Kent BRIDGEWATER — There is a quote written as you come through the door of ShackletonThomas, from namesake Earnest Shackleton:" Optimism is true moral courage." For nearly four decades, ShackletonThomas has stood true to that quote. The furniture and pottery makers are a testament to craftsmanship, creativity, and perseverance. Nestled along Route 4…

By James Kent On Friday, April 25, at a monthly Partners in Housing meeting held at the Hub CoWorks in downtown Rutland, the Vermont Short Term Rental Alliance (VTSTRA) hosted a 60-minute presentation and Q&A session for members of the public and the housing community. VTSTRA executive director Julie Marks was the afternoon’s speaker. Her…

Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the writers, directors, and executive producers of the new series "The Studio," now streaming on Apple+, have cultivated their long tenure within the Hollywood system to create a comedic gem of a show where every episode seems wildly outlandish yet is more than likely based on truth.  Making a show…

By James Kent RUTLAND— There’s a new space in downtown Rutland bursting with warmth, heart, and pride—and it’s called Bailey’s Place. Founded by 21-year-old Faith McClure, Bailey’s Place is the first LGBTQ+ bar and restaurant in the area in over two decades. It officially opened its doors on April 12, and within days had already…

Staff Report Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m.—RUTLAND — The circus is coming to town, but not just any circus. The Paramount Theatre in Rutland will host a high-flying, family-friendly spectacle presented by the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA). The show, titled “Thank You for Waiting,” features America’s next generation of elite circus…

It’s proving ever more challenging to drag a group of people into a movie theater to see a film that isn’t either a children’s movie translation of a video game, a Disney reboot of an animated classic that was better off the first time around, or the latest Marvel retread. But if there was a…

By James Kent RUTLAND—When Long Trail School junior Allston Kent told his dad the date of his annual school prom, his father knew it was time to visit the twins in downtown Rutland. The twins, of course, are the second-generation owners of McNeil & Reedy, Jim and John McNeil. McNeil & Reedy is a men’s…