In Praise Of Two - Why Two Person Improv Is Special

Lloydie and Jenny Rowe as Two Seats Four Cheeks

Are two heads really better than eight (or nine or seven or however many there might be in an improv team)? I think “better” is the wrong word but there is something special about being in a two person improv show - if you have the right partner.

I’m in the middle of publishing two episodes of The Improv Chronicle Podcast that try to get to the heart about what is special about doing improv as a duo. Episode one is available here. One of the many comments that stuck out was from David Pasquesi from legendary improv duo TJ and Dave. He described one of the advantages as cast size and one of the disadvantages as cast size.

For me, the joy of giving time, space and attention to one other and, in return, getting time, space and attention from them is something that makes it special. The fact that this is also being used to fuel an entertainment show sometimes seems both incidental and the most wonderful way to generate entertainment. When it works, there is an electricity not just between me and my scene partner but between us and the audience.

For some, two person improv seems daring. To others it seems engaging. To me it seems like it matters in that moment. That isn’t just because of higher stakes and there being no place to hide but rather because we get to invest in our characters so much. I know when we’ve done a good job both because we feel like we know them ourselves by the end of the show.

Improvisers speak a lot about “achieving group mind” and never is it more evident to me in two person shows. The ability to be so wonderfully in sync, to practically read each other’s minds (or at least look like we are doing so) is more present than I’ve ever seen or felt in other forms of improv.

All this is not to say I dislike ensemble play or that I don’t value it as much. Being in an ensemble is precious and like being in a family. Duo work is like having a best friend or a twin with whom you have an unspoken code. Appreciating the differences between ensemble play and duo play helps me love both all the more.

Talking to some of the best improv duos I could, I was struck by how much thought they gave to their work. Rachael Mason does two different shows but with the same duo partner, Susan Messing. She beautifully describes how her attitude and head space is different in both of those shows, even though she’s playing with the same person. David Pasquesi talks about how he and TJ (of TJ and Dave) developed their show with the idea of honouring all the things they believed to be true about improv. They shared a vision for the art form and wanted to live it out through their show.

All this got me appreciating the two on stage partnerships that I am missing so much at the moment. One with Jenny Rowe and the other with Liam Webber. The excitement I feel when I know we are about to do a show and the thrill I feel when we are mid-show is hard to rival. I hope we are back to putting our respective two heads together for shows sooner rather than later.

Two person shows have been a growing trend in improv and with the release of a three part Netflix special from improvisers Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz, there is a now a mainstream spotlight on improvised duos. Despite theatres being closed right now, people around the world are talking about and forming opinions on what an improvised two person show can be.