What is a comic sketch?

Sketch comedy is a genre of dramatic performance where the material in a particular show is a collection of short comic pieces unrelated to each other. Each piece is usually centered around a comic "premise." The premise may be something completely off-the-wall such as "What if the San Francisco '49ers Football Team decided to open a beauty parlor?" to something more politically or socially relevant like "What if Anne Coulter and David Bowie had been lovers in the past?"

Whatever the comic premise, the sketch will usually contain absurd exaggeration with unrealistic outcomes peppered with outrageous action and circumstances befalling the characters.

Several successful sketch comedy troupes: Monty Python, Kids In The Hall, The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players (Saturday Night Live), Martin and Rowen's Laugh-In, and MadTV.

The difference between sketch comedy and skit comedy is usually in the preparation and scripting of the comic pieces. Skits are usually more improvisational with less costuming and sets. Sketches have a stricter adherence to the written script and usually require more rehearsal time.