For information about The Sketch Show TV programme, see The Sketch Show.
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.

Festivals
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 (in which case there often is divesting and/or homo-erotic or other sexual elements or suggestion).