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Parody
Joke Guide

Jared Volle

CreativeStandUp.com
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Table of Contents

How Parody Works 3

Writing Steps 6
Example: Parody 7
Writing Tips 9
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How Parody Works

A parody takes an idea that the audience knows about, puts a new
spin on it, and then presents it as if it were normal. A parody can either
make fun of a very specific person/idea (i.e., a famous person the
audience knows) or it can make fun of a type of person/idea (i.e., rich
people, valley girls, etc.).
Parodies are only funny from the audience’s perspective. The
audience recognizes the truth/problem of the situation, but the
comedian/actor pretends not to. It’s easy to see this in movie parodies
like Walk Hard, Airplane!, Hot Shots!, and Naked Gun. Each of these
parodies takes an old idea, puts a new twist on it, and then presents it
as if it were completely serious.
If you’re good at impersonations, then parody will be really easy for
you. If not, don’t worry. In stand-up, most parodies are about different
types of people. The audience doesn’t have to know any specific
person to understand that you’re making fun of a group. Oftentimes,
switching to a dumb voice is good enough.
Parodies don’t have to be long. Maria Bamford is a master at
quickly setting up funny situations, getting 1-2 punchlines, and then
dropping it for something new. In this joke, Maria Bamford creates a
parody of women’s magazines. Instead of attacking women’s
magazines for all the articles being the same, she pretends she’s one
of the writers and acts out the story as if there wasn’t anything funny
about it.

(Using “bubbly girl” voice) “Thirty ways to shape up for summer.

Number one, eat less. Number two, exercise more. Number
three… … what was I talking about again? I’m so hungry.”
- Maria Bamford

In this short performance, Bob Nelson does 8 separate characters,

each with their own parody. The first parody is of a drunk man hitting
on a girl in a bar. Like all parodies, he exaggerates characteristics of
the man to get the laughs. Parodies #2-7 are quick one-liners that play
with stereotypes, and the 7th is a long monologue.
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PARODY 1: (drunk man, slurring words, hitting on a girl in a bar) “How

you doing, babe? What’s your sign? I’m feces. My friends call me
number 2. You know, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever
seen in my entire life. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t
know you that well. That was very forward of me… I’m very drunk.
You could be very ugly, I can’t tell. (drinks some water. Water
slides down his chin) I’m sorry, I must be full.”

NARRATOR: And now, let’s meet the players of the college all-star
game.

PARODY 2: Billy-bob Rubeck. University of Texas. (sniffs armpit)

Right guard.

PARODY 3: (turns helmet sideways, dumb voice) Tom.

PARODY 4: (Sophisticated voice) Robert W. Wilson. Harvard

University, Quarterback. Hi Muffy.
PARODY 5: (Dumb voice) Number 72… (looks down at shirt) ah, sh*t.
27.
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PARODY 6: (New York accent) Uh, Tony Cappuccino. Brooklyn
University. (breaks helmet) Ah f*ck.

PARODY 7: (Flamboyant/gay accent) Bruce Kuskioski. San Fransisco

University… Tight end (touches butt)… Next year I hope to be a
wide receiver.

PARODY 8: (dumb voice) Hello. Football in my life. I loves football.

You can be playing football on the football field… with, a football.
When I play football I always make sure I wear protective gear… such
as my helmet and shoulder-ma-pads. Don’t ever go out on the field
without these things on. You could get seriously killed. I, myself, when
I was a little children. I was playing football with my friends… and my
head would accidentally rip from my body. And my head was laying in
the mud. And my body would run around tackling sh*t, like this. Finally
one of my friends put my head back on my body. And the doctor said I
had dain bramage. My friends don’t know what that is.
Anyway, the most important piece of equipment is called the cup. Now
it ain't no Dixie cup and it ain't no coffee mug. And you certainly don’t
want to be drinking nothing out of it. It’s a piece of equipment that
goes right there, and then you can’t get hurt, look: (hits himself in the
balls). There ain't no way you can get hurt when you’re wearing the
cup. Now I ain’t got my cup on. And I can’t see sh*t right now. And my
testicles are caught in my shoulder-ma-pads.
But I’m not here to talk to you about my testicles. I’m here to talk to
you about the United Way. The United Way is the best candy bar you
can buy. Oh, Milky Way. No… You can fly anywhere in the United
States for $175 on the round trip, no that’s the United Kingdom, Uh..
Mutual of Omaha… the United Kingdom will fly you to the Milky Way
for half-price… you see, I don’t really know what the United Way is.
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Writing Steps
1. Decide what/who you’re going to parody. Look for ideas that
you disagree with or people/things you have a problem with.

2. What quality are you going to exaggerate? When you act out
your parody, which qualities will you exaggerate? What are you
making fun of them for? Choose 1-2 qualities.

3. Where would you typically find these people? This can help
you find the best opportunities for punchlines.

4. What’s the punchline going to be? Write a punchline as if it

were entirely serious to the person delivering it. In a parody, the
person delivering the punchline never thinks its funny.

5. What’s the setup going to be? Using the punchline, look for
ways you can quickly set up the situation and get to the punchline.

6. Rewrite to make the joke flow better. This is also your chance to
add any extra details to improve the joke.
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Example: Parody
1. Decide what/who you’re going to parody. Look for ideas that
you disagree with or people/things you have a problem with.

Writers for women’s magazines

2. What quality are you going to exaggerate? When you act out
your parody, which qualities will you exaggerate? What are you
making fun of them for? Choose 1-2 qualities.

1. All the articles sound the same (eat less, exercise more).
2. Give the woman a slightly insulting voice (bubbly, dumb-
blonde type voice).

3. Where would you typically find these people? This can help
you find the best opportunities for punchlines.

It’d be easiest to make fun of her while she’s writing the

article.

4. What’s the punchline going to be? Write a punchline as if it

were entirely serious to the person delivering it. In a parody, the
person delivering the punchline never thinks its funny.

“I’m so hungry.”
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5. What’s the setup going to be? Using the punchline, look for
ways you can quickly set up the situation and get to the punchline.

She’s writing the article like… “Thirty ways to shape up

for summer. Number one, eat less. Number two,
exercise more. Number three… … what was I talking
about again? I’m so hungry.”

6. Rewrite to make the joke flow better. This is also your chance to
add any extra details to improve the joke.

(Using “bubbly girl” voice) “Thirty ways to shape up for

summer. Number one, eat less. Number two, exercise
more. Number three… … what was I talking about
again? I’m so hungry.”
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Writing Tips
• Parodies are fun to play with. Instead of attacking an idea head-on,
try using parody to destroy it from the inside. They allow you to
show how crazy an idea is by acting as one of the group.
• Creating a parody is a great way to attack an idea that you think is
stupid. Instead of saying “People who are ______ are stupid!” You
can use parody to make the material feel more playful. Instead of
attacking them… BE them. Exaggerate what’s wrong with them and
present it as if it’s normal.
• Keep a parody playful. If you want to make fun of a group of people
you think are stupid, you can act out a stupid choice they might
make… but don’t go too far. You don’t want the audience to think
you’re being overly cruel.
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Parody
Joke Guide

Jared Volle

CreativeStandUp.com