Duos

Everyone should do duo shows. It’s the purest distillation of improv, just actor and actor working together. When you find someone you click with, where your play styles mesh, it’s just about the most fun you can have. It’s stressful for sure, you don’t get a break, but it also affords a lot of control over a show which can lead to incredibly deep worlds.

Of course, the flip side is that doing a Duo is that it can amplify some bad habits. When concentrating so much on your partner you an really feed into each others’ weirdness and that can get you into the dreaded “Well, I didn’t get it but they were having fun up there” audience reaction.

The sweetspot is reveling in your connection while still performing a coherent, entertaining show. This lesson plan is a combination of improving the one-on-one dynamic of a duo and keeping an eye on show quality.

I can’t write this without recommending the book by the incredible duo of TJ and Dave. Improvisation at the Speed of Life. Their naturalistic, character-based longform is a sight to behold. Their book is extremely valuable. Read that.

Format

Duos are often just free-for-all montages. Makes sense, since it’s the most freedom you can give two performers to play with. But adding structure, or a gimmick, can reap rich rewards while mitigating some of the straight-to-crazytown that can happen otherwise.

Some structures to consider:

• Monoscene

• Single location, multiple characters

• One “town” multiple places

• Flurry of small scenes

Play around, find things that tap into your unique strengths. Having something to push off of can alleviate some of the anxiety of being on all the time.

It is helpful to have the Duo just play for a series of short monotages and see what excites them.

Warm-Ups

• Mirroring is a good start. Watch for leading, watch for swerving.

• Organic play

  • Goofy

  • Might be difficult with headier players but push them to do it for a little while

• Short/Three-line scenes

  • Prompt different initiations

  • Prompt a run of related 3LSs

  • Nano Harold

• Monologue snake

  • A series of character monlogues. One starts a character monologue the other must initiate their monologue by stepping in front of the speaking person. This repeats, with them stepping in front of each in turn. Start with plenty of room!

  • Duos are challenging to edit within. Get them used to crisp moves and strong initations.

Exercises

Two elements of duo play I like to work on with people, especially new duos, are paying attention and tempo control. Only having two people removes much of the safety that working groups get you. Missing a new reality or offer is more significant when you have fewer eyes on the scene. Having a cast of two means that it’s up to both of them to create and understand each other’s characters quickly and deeply. I like character games for this.

• Character Switch

  • Great for stretching each other and for paying attention. Coach determines when the switch is. Don’t switch when it “feels right”, be random.

    • Doesn’t need to be like short-form. This is an exercise.

  • Push them to recognize the more vibrant parts of each others’ characters, both in point-of-view but in physical presentation

  • Call out forgetfulness, any blending of character brains.

• Ghost Players

  • Run two person scenes with an implied third player. The “ghost” can be there from the beginning or be a walk on. The ghosts sees and hears evreything that they can be from their position (and not what they couldn’t)

  • Players inhabit the ghost by taking their space, leaving their previous character as the ghost now

  • This can get nutty! It’s fine but reign it in when you need to

  • Prompt one-sided conversations with the ghost.

A big problem I’ve seen (and had) with Duos is uneven pacing. I cop to having been in plenty of shows where I’ve had a really wonderful two person scene for 10 minutes, then it lands… and we have 7 minutes to fill. Oof! These exercises are geared to having the players feel timing more and practice some mechanisms that give permissions to recenter and come back. If the duo is trending to something more frenetic this might not be as helpful.

• Forced Silence

  • Coach will call out a time with no speaking until lifted

  • Don’t allow them to switch to wild gesticulation

• To your corner

  • Start scene sliently with an emphasis on environmental work. Each player should find an activity they’re doing and focus on it. When they are committed start the speaking part of the scene

  • Coach will call out to the players to go back to their activity while in the scene. Both or one at a time.

Montage/Sets

Keep these simple. A few constraints to play against.

• All narrative edits

• All scene-painting

• Character swapping

• Time play

• Channel Surfing

• Mime into scene

• Monologue edits

• Limited mechanisms (e.g. JTS Brown)