Theater 29 Online Presents THE DISSERTATION DEFENDERS

A fictitious online university struggling to remain relevant, PhD candidates desperate to secure full-time teaching positions at adjunct wages, and academic-sounding topics make for a fraught (and odd) series of online debates written by Colorado playwrights.

Written by Sean Michael Cummings, Lisa Wagner Erickson, and Rebecca Gorman O'Neill

Directed by Veronica Straight-Lingo

Featuring Sean Michael Cummings and Sadie Gracelynn Trigg

The fictitious university . . .

Anoitos University enrolls PhD students who have been rejected by multiple doctoral programs. Prior to March 2020, every student was guaranteed a full-time online teaching job at adjunct wages upon graduation. But since COVID 19 hit, the number of positions have been cut in half. The result: Graduating students compete for full-time employment in the Dissertation Defense Debates.

How it all came together in virtual work environments . . .

FIRST: Playwrights were given character descriptions, the characters' underlying conflict, and the debate topic and five days to write a 3-5 minute monologue/ dissertation defense.

NEXT: The director and actors rehearsed and recorded the episode.

FINALLY: Episode One will be July 9th

WHERE: Cyberspace (https://www.theater29denver.com)

WHEN: 7 PM, July 9, 2020

GIVING BACK: Viewers will be invited to support the local arts community by donating to the Denver Actors Fund Emergency Relief Fund for Colorado theatre artists and the Denver Metro Area Artist COVID-19 Relief Fund

Presented by Theater 29, the Lulubird Project, and Cinema Sound Theatre

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