Three Things to Do for Free This Week in Denver

PeaceJam

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While cultural institutions are slowly unlocking their doors, access is still limited — and most live productions are completely confined to virtual presentations.

Still, Colorado's creatives keep producing worthy events, putting local, national and even international talent center stage...even if the stage is in your living room. Many of these events are available for free; here are five of the best this week:
The Dali Lama - Scientist
Through July 14
PeaceJam is a homegrown institution that emerged from the Summer of Violence and now belongs to the world, even though it's still based in Arvada. In addition to the gatherings that PeaceJam hosts around the globe to bring young people together with winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, the group's founders, Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff, also produce films featuring the Nobels. And starting today, Monday, July 6, through July 14, in honor of the Dalai Lama's 85th birthday, you can watch award-winning The Dalai Lama — Scientist for free here.

click to enlarge

Theatre 29

The Dissertation Defenders: Round One
Thursday, July 9, 7 p.m.
Theater 29 was in the middle of of planning its next production when the coronavirus pandemic hit. After that, the action moved off the stage and into cyberspace, where creative director Lisa Wagner Erickson and Veronica Straight-Lingo came up with a new concept: Anoitos University, a fictitious online university struggling to remain relevant, where Ph.D. candidates are desperate to secure full-time teaching positions at adjunct wages. To state their case, local playwrights created The Dissertation Defenders. Sean Michael Cummings, Rebecca Gorman O-Neill and Lisa Wagner Erickson wrote the first round, and the recorded version, directed by Straight-Lingo, will launch online at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9. The virtual show is free, but donations are suggested for the Denver Actors Fund Emergency Relief Fund for Colorado theater artists and the Denver Metro Area Artist COVID-19 Relief Fund, Find out more here.

John Lewis: Good Trouble
Thursday, July 9, 7:30 p.m.
Aspen Film is now streaming the new movie John Lewis: Good Trouble, which uses interviews and rare archival footage to chronicle Lewis's sixty-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform and immigration. While tickets to watch are $12 (and good for 72 hours), on July 9, ticket-buyers can stream a free, live panel discussion presented by the Freedom Rides Museum of Montgomery, Alabama, featuring Freedom Riders Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Dr. Rip Patton in conversation with director Dawn Porter. Click here to buy tickets.

Know of a special event in Denver (or a Colorado-based project that you can access on your screen)? Send information to [email protected].