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30-522: The Cambridge Footlights , commonly referred to simply as Footlights , is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge , England . Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy society is run by the students of Cambridge University . Footlights' inaugural performance took place in June 1883. For some months before the name "Footlights"

60-541: A cast of recurring characters. In North America , contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during the 1970s, largely growing out of The Second City in Chicago and Toronto , which was built upon the success in Minneapolis of The Brave New Workshop and Dudley Riggs . Notable contemporary American stage sketch comedy groups include The Second City,

90-533: A full-page review in Time . The first woman to be given full membership was Germaine Greer . She joined in October 1964 on the same day as Clive James and Russell Davies . There had been women before that time who had been allowed to join in, including Eleanor Bron in the late 1950s, but Greer was the first to be billed as a full member. Apparently Tim Brooke-Taylor was instrumental in having women admitted. She

120-610: A multitude of schemes and identities. Sketch comedy has its origins in vaudeville and music hall , where many brief humorous acts were strung together to form a larger programme. In Britain , 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 , then to television, with such shows as Not Only... But Also , Monty Python's Flying Circus , Not

150-417: A number of spinoff films, including The Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne's World (1992) and Superstar (1999). The idea of running characters was taken a step further with shows like The Red Green Show and The League of Gentlemen , where sketches centered on the various inhabitants of the fictional towns of Possum Lake and Royston Vasey , respectively. In Little Britain , sketches focused on

180-403: A vice-president, treasurer, archivist and several other posts to form the committee. Notable past presidents have included the following: Sketch comedy Sketch comedy has its origins in vaudeville and music hall , where many brief humorous acts were strung together to form a larger programme. In Britain , it moved to stage performances by Cambridge Footlights , such as Beyond

210-631: The Head Crusher from The Kids in the Hall ; Martin Short 's Ed Grimley , a recurring character from both SCTV and Saturday Night Live ; The Nerd from Robot Chicken ; and Kevin and Perry from Harry Enfield and Chums . Recurring characters from Saturday Night Live have notably been featured in a number of spinoff films, including The Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne's World (1992) and Superstar (1999). The idea of running characters

240-602: The Upright Citizens Brigade , and The Groundlings . In South Bend, Indiana , area high school students produced a sketch comedy series called Beyond Our Control that aired on the local NBC affiliate WNDU-TV from 1967 to 1986. Warner Bros. Animation made two sketch comedy shows, Mad and Right Now Kapow . Australian television of the '80s and '90s featured several successful sketch comedy shows, notably The Comedy Company , whose recurring characters included Col'n Carpenter , Kylie Mole and Con

270-479: The satire boom . During the 1980s, Footlights reinforced its position at the heart of British comedy. The 1981 revue, featuring Emma Thompson , Hugh Laurie , Stephen Fry , Tony Slattery , Penny Dwyer and Paul Shearer , won the inaugural Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and spawned Fry and Laurie , the first in a long line of popular and successful double acts formed at

300-607: The 1970s and 1980s include If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind and the sequel Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? , The Groove Tube , Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) , The Kentucky Fried Movie and its sequel Amazon Women on the Moon , and Monty Python 's And Now for Something Completely Different and The Meaning of Life . More recent sketch films include The Underground Comedy Movie , InAPPropriate Comedy , Movie 43 and Livrés chez vous sans contact . Many of

330-444: The 1970s, largely growing out of The Second City in Chicago and Toronto , which was built upon the success in Minneapolis of The Brave New Workshop and Dudley Riggs . Notable contemporary American stage sketch comedy groups include The Second City, the Upright Citizens Brigade , and The Groundlings . In South Bend, Indiana , area high school students produced a sketch comedy series called Beyond Our Control that aired on

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360-453: 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 , then to television, with such shows as Not Only... But Also , Monty Python's Flying Circus , Not the Nine O'Clock News (and its successor Alas Smith and Jones ), and A Bit of Fry and Laurie . An early, perhaps

390-491: The Fruiterer . An early British example is the influential The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959). Sketch films made during the 1970s and 1980s include If You Don't Stop It... You'll Go Blind and the sequel Can I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses? , The Groove Tube , Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) , The Kentucky Fried Movie and its sequel Amazon Women on

420-477: The Moon , and Monty Python 's And Now for Something Completely Different and The Meaning of Life . More recent sketch films include The Underground Comedy Movie , InAPPropriate Comedy , Movie 43 and Livrés chez vous sans contact . Many of the sketch comedy revues in Britain included seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . Since 1999, the growing sketch comedy scene has precipitated

450-416: The Nine O'Clock News (and its successor Alas Smith and Jones ), and A Bit of Fry and Laurie . An early, perhaps the first, televised example of a sketch comedy show is Texaco Star Theater aka The Milton Berle Show 1948–1967, hosted by Milton Berle . In Mexico, the series Los Supergenios de la Mesa Cuadrada , created by Mexican comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños under the stage name Chespirito ,

480-560: The United States. For information about individual Footlights revues, see Cambridge Footlights Revue . Potential members apply to the organization at two times during the year, once at the end of the university's Lent term and the other at the beginning of the university's Michaelmas term . Students who study at Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University are able to apply for membership. Students must be at least in

510-470: The club entered the mainstream when its members formed half of Beyond the Fringe , the hugely popular stage revue which toured Britain and America in 1960. The 1963 revue then followed in the footsteps of Beyond the Fringe , appearing in Edinburgh and London's West End, before travelling to New Zealand and the United States, where it made appearances on Broadway and The Ed Sullivan Show and received

540-469: The club including Armstrong and Miller and Mitchell and Webb . Their revue, The Cellar Tapes , at St Mary Street Hall was billed as "the annual revue: one of the strongest casts for several years, has already toured in southern England with great success." Former members have gone on to win Oscars , BAFTAs and other awards and enjoy success in the entertainment industry. During term, Footlights produce

570-530: The development of sketch comedy festivals in cities all around North America. Noted festivals include: Sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes , called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville , and is used widely in variety shows , comedy talk shows , and some sitcoms and children's television series . The sketches may be improvised live by

600-548: The first, televised example of a sketch comedy show is Texaco Star Theater aka The Milton Berle Show 1948–1967, hosted by Milton Berle . In Mexico, the series Los Supergenios de la Mesa Cuadrada , created by Mexican comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños under the stage name Chespirito , was broadcast between 1968 and 1973, creating such famous characters as El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado . While separate sketches historically have tended to be unrelated, more recent groups have introduced overarching themes that connect

630-488: The local NBC affiliate WNDU-TV from 1967 to 1986. Warner Bros. Animation made two sketch comedy shows, Mad and Right Now Kapow . Australian television of the '80s and '90s featured several successful sketch comedy shows, notably The Comedy Company , whose recurring characters included Col'n Carpenter , Kylie Mole and Con the Fruiterer . An early British example is the influential The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film (1959). Sketch films made during

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660-458: The performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their work from a “skit", maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or "bit") while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation. Sketch comedy is a genre within American television that includes

690-689: The regular "Smokers"—an informal mixture of sketches and stand-up—at the ADC Theatre . The club also produces the annual Pantomime (in collaboration with CUADC) and the Spring Revue, as well as staging the winning entry of the Footlights Harry Porter Prize; a competition in which any student at the university may enter a one-hour comic play. The Footlights International Tour Show takes place from June until October, and travels to Cambridge, London, Edinburgh and venues across

720-528: The shows soon open to the public. A local paper commended the club's appeal to the "general public, the many different classes of which life in Cambridge is made up". The club grew in prominence in the 1960s as a hotbed of comedy and satire, and established a permanent home in the basement of the Cambridge Union . Having established a tradition of performing at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe ,

750-598: The sketches within a particular show with recurring characters that return for more than one appearance. Examples of recurring characters include Mr. Gumby from Monty Python's Flying Circus ; Ted and Ralph from The Fast Show ; The Family from The Carol Burnett 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 ; The Nerd from Robot Chicken ; and Kevin and Perry from Harry Enfield and Chums . Recurring characters from Saturday Night Live have notably been featured in

780-470: The third year or above in their undergraduate studies to apply for membership. Postgraduate students are also eligible to apply to be members of the Footlights comedy society. This is a list of former members of Footlights who achieved notability after graduating from Cambridge University . The elected leader of Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club is known as the president, who is assisted by

810-536: Was broadcast between 1968 and 1973, creating such famous characters as El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulín Colorado . While separate sketches historically have tended to be unrelated, more recent groups have introduced overarching themes that connect the sketches within a particular show with recurring characters that return for more than one appearance. Examples of recurring characters include Mr. Gumby from Monty Python's Flying Circus ; Ted and Ralph from The Fast Show ; The Family from The Carol Burnett Show ;

840-565: Was chosen, the group had performed to local audiences in the Cambridge area (once, with a cricket match included, at the "pauper lunatic asylum"). They wished to go wider than the University Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC), founded in 1855, with its membership drawn largely from Trinity College , and its theatre seating only 100. They were to perform every May Week at the Theatre Royal, Barnwell, Cambridge ,

870-500: Was part of the Footlights' 1965 revue My Girl Herbert . Over the next decade, Footlights members came to dominate British comedy in the 1970s, creating and starring in shows such as Not Only... But Also , I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again , At Last the 1948 Show , That Was the Week That Was and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy , forming comedy groups such as Monty Python and The Goodies , and generally fuelling

900-431: Was taken a step further with shows like The Red Green Show and The League of Gentlemen , where sketches centered on the various inhabitants of the fictional towns of Possum Lake and Royston Vasey , respectively. In Little Britain , sketches focused on a cast of recurring characters. In North America , contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during

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