Vaudeville (; ) is a
theatrical genre of
variety entertainment. It was especially popular in the
United States and
Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. A typical vaudeville performance is made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts have included popular and classical
musicians, singers,
dancers,
comedians,
trained animals,
magicians, female and male impersonators,
acrobats,
illustrated songs,
jugglers, one-act
plays or scenes from plays,
athletes, lecturing
celebrities,
minstrels, and
movies. A vaudeville performer is often referred to as a "vaudevillian."