This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes, or 'sketches', commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comedic actors, either on stage or through an audio or/and visual medium such as broadcasting. Often sketches are first improvised by the actors and written down based on the outcome of these improv sessions, however improvisation is not necessarily involved in all sketch comedy. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... The Sketch Show is a British television sketch comedy program, featuring many leading British comedians. ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Improvisational comedy (also called improv) is comedy that is performed with a little to no predetermination of subject matter and structure. ...

History

Sketch comedy has its origins in vaudeville and music hall, where a large number of brief but humorous acts were strung together to form a larger program. In England, it moved to stage performances by Cambridge Footlights, such as Beyond the Fringe and A Clump of Plinths (which evolved into Cambridge Circus), to radio with such shows as It's That Man Again and I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again and then to television with such shows as Monty Python's Flying Circus and Not the Nine O'clock News. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ... Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, run by the students of Cambridge University. ... Album of Beyond the Fringe Published by EMI in 1996 Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett and Jonathan Miller. ... Cambridge Circus is a comedy revue that played in London in the 1960s. ... ITMA was a 1940s BBC radio comedy programme. ... Im Sorry, Ill Read That Again was a long-running BBC radio comedy programme that originally grew out of the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus. ... This article is about the television series. ... Not the Nine OClock News is a comedy television programme that was shown on the BBC, broadcast from 1979 to 1982. ...

Historically the sketches tended to be unrelated, but more recent groups have introduced overarching themes that connect the sketches within a particular show, and recurring characters that return for more than one appearance. Examples of recurring characters include "Ted & Ralph" from The Fast Show; the "Head Crusher" from The Kids in the Hall; Martin Short's "Ed Grimley", a recurring character from both SCTV and Saturday Night Live; "Miss Swan" from Mad TV; and "Kevin & Perry" from Harry Enfield and Chums. The idea of running characters was taken a stage further in The League of Gentlemen where sketches all centre around the various inhabitants of the fictional town of Royston Vasey. The Fast Show is a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for four series from 1994 to 2000. ... Mr. ... For the Chicago rap group see Kidz in the Hall. ... Martin Hayter Short, CM (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian/American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. ... SCTV DVD cover, showing Ed Grimley (second from right-top) Edward Mayhoff Ed Grimley was a character introduced on the television series SCTV and later used in Saturday Night Live. ... Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of The Second City. ... This article is about the American television series. ... MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series based on the humor magazine, Mad. ... Harry Enfields Television Programme is a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Royston Vasey is: the real name of Roy Chubby Brown the fictional setting of The League of Gentlemen (comedy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In America, contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during the 1970s, largely growing out of Chicago's Second City. British ensembles, in contrast, have more usually been built on writing talent - with writers often working in pairs. Improvisational comedy (also called improv) is comedy that is performed with a little to no predetermination of subject matter and structure. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Second City redirects here. ...

Notable contemporary stage sketch comedy groups include The Second City, the Upright Citizens Brigade, and The Groundlings. Second City redirects here. ... The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicagos ImprovOlympic in 1990. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Notable television sketch comedy shows include Monty Python's Flying Circus, Saturday Night Live, Not the Nine O'Clock News, Alas Smith and Jones, All That, The Amanda Show, SCTV, the Upright Citizens Brigade, The Red Skelton Show, The Kids in the Hall, CODCO, Mad TV, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, In Living Color, Mr. Show, The D-Generation, Goodness Gracious Me, Chappelle's Show, Whitest Kids U'Know, Little Britain, The Sketch Show, Almost Live!, and X-Play. This article is about the television series. ... This article is about the American television series. ... Not the Nine OClock News is a comedy television programme that was shown on the BBC, broadcast from 1979 to 1982. ... Alas Smith and Jones was a British comedy sketch television series featuring Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. ... All That was an American live-action sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network. ... The Amanda Show is a live-action comedy and variety show aired on Nickelodeon in the United States, Australia, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom and Family in Canada. ... Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of The Second City. ... The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicagos ImprovOlympic in 1990. ... The Red Skelton Show was a staple of American television for almost two decades, from the early 1950s through the early 1970s. ... For the Chicago rap group see Kidz in the Hall. ... CODCO was a Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian troupe that aired on CBC from 1988-1992. ... MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series based on the humor magazine, Mad. ... This article is about the television series. ... In Living Color is a sketch comedy television series which ran on the FOX Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. ... Mr. ... Nick Bufalo in the Thunderbirds Pizza sketch. ... Goodness Gracious Me was a BBC English language sketch show originally on BBC Radio 4 and later on BBC TWO, based on four Indian-British actors: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. ... Chappelles Show is an American comedy television series starring comedian Dave Chappelle. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article is about the British TV show Little Britain. ... The Sketch Show is a British television sketch comedy program, featuring many leading British comedians. ... Almost Live! was a local sketch comedy television show in Seattle, Washington, USA, produced and broadcast by NBC affiliate KING-TV from 1984 to 1999. ... X-Play logo X-Play (previously Gamespot TV and Extended Play) is a video game review television show hosted by Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. ...

The latest wave of sketch comedy is being distributed online, from amateurs to organized groups. Millions currently watch sketch comedy on such video sites as Meta Cafe, YouTube, and iFilm. Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ... iFilm is an online archive of short films, movie trailers, and other video clips of interest. ...

Festivals

Many of the sketch comedy revues in Britain included seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A street performer on the Royal Mile, with volunteer (2004). ...

Since 1999, the growing sketch comedy scene has precipitated the development of sketch comedy festivals in cities all around North America, including festivals in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Vancouver and Portland, Oregon.

Amateurs

Besides such more professional, properly theatrical performers, there is also a tradition of amateur fun. As the whole concept of sketch comedy is meant to be silly anyway it is an ideal form of theater, like pantomime, for simply ridiculous attempts (often involving cross-dressing). There are many purposes: to entertain crowds or troops when no professional entertainment is available, sometimes with a mild hope of fund-raising. It is not uncommon as a task for pledges during hazing. The Christmas Pantomime colour lithograph bookcover, 1890 Pantomime (informally, panto) refers to a theatrical genre, traditionally found in Great Britain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, which is usually performed around the Christmas and New Year holiday season. ... Hazing is an often ritualistic test and a task, which may constitute harassment, abuse or humiliation with requirements to perform random, often meaningless tasks, sometimes as a way of initiation into a social group. ...

See also

• List of sketch comedy groups