How might a newly-formed sketch comedy performance group get to perform in a theatre or other venue?

How is it possible to find a good venue to perform in? This will sound stupid, but what do those guys who perform in theatres do to get the gig anyway? Do they send an email or make a call to ask when would be a good time to perform there?

Flippancy aside, I would like to know how a fledling comedy group could actually get in a performance at a theatre, obviously starting with small venues and moving up towards something like the theatre royal.

What is a VPN?

VPN is (Virtual Private Network) were first used by companies to enable their employees to securely access internal systems such as email remotely (e.g. from home or while on business trips). Today they are increasingly being used for personal use by individuals to protect their privacy while online in public places (e.g. when using the wi-fi connection in a cafe) or in a country where the internet is censored / blocked (e.g. China, Saudi Arabia…).