2021 Comedy Show | INSIDE THE GREENHOUSE

Stand Up for Climate Change on April 22

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Stand Up For Climate Change Comedy Show
Tune in on April 22!

Did you hear the one about the 16 comedians who walked into a Creative Climate Communication course at the University of Colorado during a global pandemic? No joke- this actually happened (okay, the 16 comedians Zoomed in). Why? To generate comedy for the annual Inside the Greenhouse Stand Up for Climate Comedy production, an online show featuring the comedy of New York comedian, Chuck Nice, select pieces from 15 stand-up comedians from across the nation, winners from our international climate comedy video competition, hosted by Max Boykoff and Beth Osnes, sprinkled throughout with contributions by our students, and all edited together and ready to launch to the world on Earth Day, April 22, 2021.This is a class project to co-create climate comedy through a partnership between an undergraduate class of 45 students and 16 professional comedians from across the USA. During the Spring semester of 2021-- while night clubs across the world remain largely closed to live standup comedy—Max Boykoff and Beth Osnes-- co-instructors of a course entitled Creative Climate Communication at the University of Colorado-- concocted a plan. We decided to recruit and pay 10 comedians from coast to coast to partner with our students to create climate comedy in an online environment. Through a long-term, climate comedy partnership with New York comedian, Chuck Nice, we put out the call to comedians far and wide. The response was overwhelmingly positive, such that we ended up with 15 comedians instead or our intended 10 (plus Chuck=16). We divided the class into groups and have matched each with a comedian. Each group chose a specific climate solution from the list generated by Project Drawdown for their assigned comedian to focus on in their comic piece. Students provided a summary of research on the solution, links to media stories about this solution, and ideas for jokes and comic approaches for this solution. The comedians used this material to create an original comic piece. Presented by Inside the Greenhouse- a project of the University of Colorado for creative climate communication and the Center for Creative Climate Communication and Behavior Change (3CBC).

FEATURING CHUCK NICE!

Chuck Nice is a veteran of stand-up comedy with a rich history in entertainment. For years, Chuck has been busy making a name for himself across all mediums, including radio, television, and the internet. Recently, Chuck was delighted to deliver a TED talk, on the main stage of the Vancouver conference, regarding the unintended consequence of future tech and human interaction. Currently, he is the co-host of Star Talk with Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on Nat Geo.

Appearances also by:

Also announced will be this year’s winners from the International ITG Comedy & Climate Change Video Competition.

This online offering is an example of something we call, ‘good natured’ comedy,’ which our research shows helps process negative emotions, feeds hope, and sustains climate action. Reversing global warming is a mighty challenge to our survival that requires a steep incline in new behaviors. But like any huge mountain, there’s only one way to get over it. Climate!

Live tweeting will be throughout the day with hashtag #climatecomedy via @boykoff @osnesb & @ITG_ Boulder

Thanks to ongoing supporters Pat sheffels, Brian Daniell, Vicki Nichols, and Kate Ridgeway.