Ask for the butter

HARRIET
I got a laugh at the table read when I asked for the butter in the dinner sketch. I didn't get it at the dress. What did I do wrong?

MATT
You asked for the laugh.

HARRIET
What did I do at the table reading?

MATT
You asked for the butter.

Seeing as the Matt in this scene from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is being played by Matthew Perry, best known for a sitcom that degenerated into asking from the laugh shortly after the credits rolled, this is doubly brilliant to me.

Jennifer Crusie wrote a while back about setting up in jokes (it was on her site, but I think she took some of her essays down because she was putting them in a book). She's absolutely right--"I want to open the West," isn't funny unless you've read What The Lady Wants--and it's something I strive to do.

But, as always, I'm learning. I think asking for the laugh is something to be wary of.