Comedy 101: Unit 1: Ladybugs

Nature's cutest insect, the ladybug has been the source of mythology, superstition and laughs since the dawn of mankind. Woefully under-utilized by even professional comedians, the ladybug is an almost-mystical force of humor that can be whipped out at even the least likely moment for a sure laugh.

So why is the ladybug so often overlooked when one is crafting a joke or humorous essay? Scientists have been trying to answer that very question for decades, and for the most part, their research has been inconclusive. Hopefully, this unit will help you understand the power of the ladybug so that you can use it for yourself.

1.1 Why is the ladybug funny?
No one knows. The ladybug is funny for the same reason that a man slipping on a banana peel is funny, and the reason I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is not. It may be nothing more than the fickle tastes of those abstract comedy gods.

Perhaps it is the spots. Or maybe it's the name. Or the strange juxtaposition of its cuteness and insecticity. It's not important to know why. To properly use the ladybug, we must only understand how.

1.2 How should I use the ladybug?
The ladybug can and should be used almost anywhere and everywhere. Writing a skit, in which a character is hit in the face with something, but think a cream pie is too trite? Try a ladybug. Looking for a gimmick to push that "overbearing boss" character over the top? Make him a ladybug. Need something to cross the road for your amusing punch line? Well, you get the idea!

1.2.1 Transformation
Transformation into a ladybug has a long tradition of being employed by desperate writers who have backed themselves into a corner and need a sensible yet hilarious way of extricating themselves from the scene. If you find yourself struggling with an ending that resolves the major questions of a scene or story, turn your main character into a ladybug. Any questions you may have left unresolved will disappear, as the audience will now be faced with different questions like "why did that guy just turn into a ladybug?" and "man, isn't it hilarious how that guy turned into a ladybug just then?"



1.3 Examples
Here are some real-life examples of the ways in which you can use the ladybug to enrich your joke or comedic screenplay.

"Airport security is out of control these days. Just the other day, I got pulled off the plane because I had a plastic spider keychain, and the flight attendant said it had 'sharp edges!' Turns out, the pilot was a ladybug."

"RAYMOND
Ma! Please, leave us alone, we're trying to have dinner.

MARIE
You're eating this?

[laugh track]

DEBRA
Yes, Marie. It's cream of mushroom soup.

RAYMOND
Or, as I call it, cream of mushyum.

[laugh track]

MARIE
Don't lie, Raymond. I've eaten ladybug soups more appetizing than this.

[prolonged laugh track with scattered clapping]"

"VLADIMIR: Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot? That Pozzo passed, with his carrier, and that he spoke to us? Probably. But in all that, what truth will there be? At me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying, He is sleeping, he knows nothing, let him sleep on. [Pause.] I can't go on! [Pause.] What have I said?

[Enter Godot right, as a ladybug.]

Oh, there he is."

1.4 End of Unit Quiz
1) Which insect is the funniest?
a. ladybug
b. spider
c. katydid

2) In which situation should the ladybug not appear?
a. wearing a suit
b. conducting a train
c. Iraq
d. none of the above

3. Fill in the blank in the funniest way: "GET OVER HERE YOU CHEATING BITCH I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU WITH MY OWN TWO _________"
a. hands
b. guns
c. ladybugs