vaudevillians
Old-time stage performers
Vaudevillians were performers in vaudeville—the popular American variety entertainment of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featuring comedy, song, dance, and novelty acts.
The term evokes a bygone era of live theater before film and television: The old vaudevillians knew how to work a crowd.
It sometimes describes anyone with broad, theatrical performance instincts.
Multi-object tossing artists
- acrobatsPerformers of athletic feats
- magiciansPractitioners of sleight-of-hand
- ventriloquistsSpeakers through puppets
- contortionistsPerformers with extreme flexibility
illusionists · singers · dancers · comedians · minstrels · mimes · clowns · tumblers
Exaggerated physical humor
- shtickPerformer's signature gimmick
- gagMouth restraint or jest
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
- pratfallComedic fall on buttocks
double-take · timing · mugging · burlesque · farce · buffoonery · wit · banter
Closed electrical pathway
- playbillTheater performance listing
- billingCharging for services rendered
- headlinerTop-billed performer
- emceeCeremony host
revue · sketch · monologue · big-time · small-time · footlights · proscenium · encore
Scottish name meaning woodland
- BroadwayManhattan theatrical district
- nickelodeonCoin-fed entertainment machine
- folliesUnwise acts or fanciful structures
- ragtimeSyncopated piano genre
jugglers
Multi-object tossing artists
- acrobatsPerformers of athletic feats
- magiciansPractitioners of sleight-of-hand
- ventriloquistsSpeakers through puppets
contortionists · illusionists · singers · dancers · comedians · minstrels · mimes · clowns · tumblers · aerialists
slapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
pratfall · double-take · timing · mugging · burlesque · farce · buffoonery · wit · banter · wisecrack
circuit
Closed electrical pathway
- playbillTheater performance listing
- billingCharging for services rendered
- headlinerTop-billed performer
emcee · revue · sketch · monologue · big-time · small-time · footlights · proscenium · encore · matinee
Keith
Scottish name meaning woodland
- BroadwayManhattan theatrical district
- nickelodeonCoin-fed entertainment machine
- folliesUnwise acts or fanciful structures
ragtime · speakeasy · talkies · circuit · theaters · touring
Houdini
Famous escape artist
vaudevilliansfilm stars
Famous cinema actors
TV personalities · YouTubers · podcasters · influencers · radio personalities