We help important ideas to become human, engaging, and deeply funny
We do in-organisation and public workshops exploring ways to learn how to be engaging, smart and funny about stuff that matters.
Here are some public workshops we have coming up.
For in-organisation or public workshop in your city,
contact us (Maffick.com is where this project comes from).
Warning: Learning may include belly laughing, transformative insights, and meeting delightful, like-minded people.
Compassionate Climate Comedy Workshop
Tips for thinking about and communicating this stuff with impact
Online, live, 90-minutes
Thursday, 9 March
1900-2030 Berlin, 1800-1930 London, 1300-1430 Baltimore
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
In this interactive, online workshop, we explore three key tools which help us to think about and communicate climate issues with more compassion, clarity, and humour.
We'll explore:
- The rule of 3
- Finding the beauty in your anger
- Using metaphors/domain shifts to illuminate disfunction and possibility
No comedy experience needed. Just a desire to help make the world better.
WHEN AND WHERE
Next workshop is on Thursday, 9 March from 1900-2030 Berlin time. For other time zones, we recommend this link.
The event will be on Zoom. Be prepared to have your cameras and mics on.
WORKSHOP FEE
Regular individual rate £55.
IMPORTANT WORKSHOP INFORMATION
Course limited to 10 participants.
To pay for and reserve your place, click here.
Please read the course terms and conditions.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
For the Thursday, 9 March Climate Comedy Workshop, click below.
We do in-organisation and public courses exploring ways to learn how to be engaging, smart and funny about stuff that matters.
Here are some public courses we have coming up.
For in-organisation or public courses in your city,
contact us (Maffick.com is where this project comes from).
Warning: Learning may include belly laughing, transformative insights, and meeting delightful, like-minded people.
Sustainable Stand Up
Live, online
(Europe & Africa evening, North America day)
Let's find a way to talk about important ideas with humour and compassion
6 April to 25 May 2023
1930-2100 Berlin time.
CLASSES (Six live, 90-minute, fun and inspiring online classes via Zoom. (This ain't your normal Zoom call.))
Dates:
Class 1 Thursday 6 April
Class 2 Thursday 13 April
Class 3 Thursday 20 April
Class 4 Thursday 27 April
Coaching & set refinement week 29 April to 3 May
Class 5 Thursday 4 May
Class 6 Thusday 18 May
Show Saturday 20 May
Class 7 (Debrief) Thursday 25 May
Class times: 1930-2100 CET (Europe)
1330-1500 (East Coast USA)
for other time zone calculations, we recommend using this.
COACHING (Individual, online coaching (30 minutes per person)) 29 April to 3 May. We'll find a time that works for us.
THE SHOW (Our live, online public comedy show (we only invite lovely people to be part of our audience))
We meet 40 mins before the show start time.
Date: Saturday, 20 May.
Time: We arrive at 1850 CET/1250 ET
Show starts promptly at 1930 CET/1330 ET
COURSE FEE
Regular individual rate 320 euros plus VAT
Corporate rate per person 540 euros plus VAT
IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION
Course limited to 7 participants.
To apply to be a participant for this course, click here.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
Sustainable Stand Up
Live, online and in-person hybrid
(Canberra, Australia only)
Let's find a way to talk about important ideas with humour and compassion
6 April to 25th May
1900-2030 Canberra time.
CLASSES (Five live, 90-minute, fun and inspiring online classes via Zoom. (This ain't your normal Zoom call.) One in-person class.)
Dates:
Online
Class 1 Thursday 6 April
Class 2 Thursday 13 April
Class 3 Thursday 20 April
Class 4 Thursday 27 April
Coaching & set refinement week 29 April to 3 May
Class 5 Thursday 4 May
In-person
Class 6 Thursday 18 May* (class in person from 1800 - 2100)
Show Saturday 20 May
Online
Class 7 (Debrief) Thursday 25 May
Class times are 1900-2030 Canberra time, except for the in-person class which is 1800-2100.
COACHING (Individual, online coaching, 30 minutes per person) 29 April to 3 May. We'll find a time that works for us.
THE SHOW (Live and in-person)
Date: Saturday, 20 May at Smiths
Time: We arrive comfortably before the show starts (ask Phil).
Show starts promptly at 1900 at Smiths.
COURSE FEE
Regular individual rate 560 AUD
Corporate rate 940 AUD
IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION
Course limited to 7 participants.
To book your place, click here.
To get on the waiting list for the next course, email us.
For the April to May 2023 hybrid course in Canberra, Australia, book here.
For the April to May 2023 online course in the evening in Europe, please complete the application form here.
High level course terms and conditions
For the public courses:
If you cancel up to one week before the course starts, you’ll get a total refund. If you cancel after that or during the course, we refund you up to 50% of your fee, proportional to the amount of the course taken before the cancellation. If you are under halfway through the course, or if you are beyond that, we invite you to re-take the course again at the special alumni rate.
For both public and in-organisation courses:
How many classes of a course can you miss? Ideally none. We understand that sometimes things come up that make missing a class unavoidable. If you are going to miss a class, tell your facilitator. You are able to miss up to 2 of the first 4 classes in a course, as long as you keep up with the homework and you work with the facilitator to keep on track. The rest of the classes, and the show, are mandatory.
For courses and workshops:
Sometimes, and very rarely, there is a mismatch between what we are trying to nurture in the course, and a participant involved. If this is the case, it is our call to invite a person to leave and revert to the refund policies above/below.
For in-organisation courses:
If individual participants from an in-organisation course cancel up to two weeks before the course starts, there is no penalty. If a participant cancels after that, they must refund the organisation personally for their course fee.
Topic: Humour in the communication of complex & difficult topics of climate and humanitarian issues
Belina Raffy of Maffick/Sustainable Stand Up, Pablo Suarez of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Anna Ramskogler-Witt of Aktion Gegen den Hunger and the Berlin Human Rights Film Festival
In this Human Rights Film Festival Berlin podcast, we explore how humour can help us to communicate complex, difficult issues like climate change and humanitarian work.
Smile! It's Climate Change
In this podcast with Life-Sized City presenter Mikael Colville-Andersen, Mikael and Belina discuss how to make climate communication and climate action better through compassionate comedy and improvisation.
Let's keep in touch. Connect with us here...
We will send you information tailored to your interests.
Reminder: Sustainable Stand Up is a project of Maffick.com.
Success stories
Our participants include improvisers, comedians, NASA climate scientists, medical researchers, architects, military servicemen and women, and people like you. Here's what some of them say:
PETER, THE NASA CLIMATE SCIENTIST SAYS...
"I need to reach people about the deadly serious impacts of climate change. But I don't want to drive them away with gloom and doom. Belina and my wonderfully supportive classmates helped me discover the hilarity in my work and connect with the audience about something that really matters, to me and the world."
KRISTY, THE MILITARY SERVICEWOMAN SAYS
"I absolutely loved the supportive atmosphere and the we're all in it together mentality that was built into our class... I was able to create a solid five minute set and muster the courage to get up on that stage alone. Thank you Belina for starting my stand up journey on a high note!"
MATT, THE COMPUTER ENGINEER SAYS
"... gave me the confidence to get up in front of people, the tools for success in stand up and to break into doing improv. Belina is just an amazing teacher..."
The SusStandUp Team
Let's play!
Belina
Founder, Director
Belina began her stand up and improv in 1996 through classes and performances in New York City, continuing her studies at the Loose Moose School of Improvisation. She performs in Baltimore, NY. London and - soon - Berlin. She is a Director of the global Applied Improvisation Network and a consultant with an MBA. Belina spends most of her time teaching social entrepreneurs and business people improvisation skills to bring about a more delightful, sustainable form of business.
Steve
Advisor/Connector, UK
Steve is a geek comedian and founder of Science Showoff (http://www.scienceshowoff.org) and Bright Club (http://www.brightclub.org). He's trained hundreds of people to be funny about science and hosts gigs all over the UK where clever folk get to make funny for the first time.
Photo credit: Ed Moore
Adam
Advisor, Germany
Adam is a professional actor, improviser and stand-up for corporate audiences. He has been performing, teaching and directing since the mid 1990s, mostly in central Europe.
With a background in psychology, he is also a presentation coach, consultant and adjunct professor who uses techniques stolen from theater to help companies and governments all over the world make their staff and customers smile.
Katie
Performer/Advisor
Katie Goodman is an award-winning musical comic, improviser, actress, author, creative coach, and social activist. She is the author of “Improvisation For The Spirit: Live a More Creative, Spontaneous, and Courageous Life Using the Tools of Improv Comedy.” Her comedy music videos can be seen, having amassed over 1.5 million hits on Youtube. www.KatieGoodman.com
Peter
Advisor, Climate Scientist
Peter is the founding director of NASA’s Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Office, supporting the North American Carbon Program (www.nacarbon.org); ABoVE, the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment, a major field campaign (http://above.nasa.gov); and the Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Focus Area at NASA HQ (http://cce.nasa.gov). He's also an improviser and was part of our first show in Baltimore of Sustainable Stand Up.
Pablo
Advisor, Climate Scientist
Pablo is Associate director for research and innovation at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. As a researcher and consultant on climate, disasters and development he has worked with over thirty organizations in more than 50 countries. His current work addresses the use of innovative tools for climate risk management – including applied improvisation for learning and managing complex dynamic systems.
Prescott
Green building Expert/Improviser, Baltimore
Prescott is a sustainability innovator by day, and talented improvisation performer and show director by night.
Copyright 2015