What makes for a successful two-character play?

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 3:22pm

As many of you know, I'm a writer- and I recently tried my hand at writing a play with only two characters. It's very dialogue-driven and I worry that such a piece screams "bored audience."

So for comparative purposes, what elements make a two-character play work best?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 4:29pm

Great writing, great direction, great actors.  Don't mean to sound smug, but I immediately thought of The Sound Inside, The Gin Game, and Night, Mother.  All were really well written, but they were also extremely well directed and had performances that were award-worthy.

It is a hard question to answer, but as an audience member, I think a two character play needs to have a tight focus, whether a specific event (e.g., Night, Mother), or a specific focus (e.g., The Gin Game and, arguably, The Sound Inside, and the characters themselves need to be immediately interesting, e.g., we learn immediately that Mary Louise Parker's character is dying; even though the play doesn't dwell on that, it is always in the back of our minds.  The ramblings of a madman.

 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 4:35pm

Thanks Jarethan- I'm going to PM you.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 4:40pm

And if there were any sort of "formula" they'd all be successful.   It makes no difference how many are in the cast.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 4:40pm

And if there were any sort of "formula" they'd all be successful.   It makes no difference how many are in the cast.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 4:41pm

I agree, but surely what makes a 2-hander work would be different from what makes a splashy musical work, no?

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 5:06pm

Completely. There is a huge difference between a two person show versus shows with large casts. I immediately thought of Plaza Suite when I saw this thread. I think the audience has to immediately care about the characters, the direction has to be excellent, the story needs to be intriguing, and the acting has to be top notch. In huge musicals, one of those elements can just be average, and people won't care. And of course when you cast celebrities, people will just want to be in the same room with them. Not realistic for most writers of course, but it helps ticket sales.

[Um Kulthum]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 6:01pm

I saw "The Sound Inside" recently and one thing that struck me was how some interactions between the two characters were portrayed not as dialogue, but rather Mary-Louise Parker's character recounting what had happened. Her character being a writer, it made particular sense that she would narrate like that; I don't suppose it would always work. But it kept me guessing, and interested in the story.

That play also had a good line that is more generally good writing advice: “If your protagonist is leading you then you’ll likely stay ahead of your reader.” I'm just a writer-for-fun but I have experienced this, the sudden feeling that a character should say/do something I didn't plan for them to do and it takes the story in a different direction. You don't want to get too stuck on a plan.

Also agree with what others have said about how your audience needs to care about the characters!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 6:19pm

I think a two person show follows the same rules as any play. The characters need to be intriguing and draw the audience in (they need not be likable necessarily). The story needs conflict and a precipitating incident that takes the audience and characters in a different direction. Dialogue is music which is why workshopping a play is so important. It needs to be carefully chosen, sharp, smart and effective. It needs to be efficient.

It surprises me how many plays get produced on Broadway that are poorly written-no conflict, no “flip”. Just lots of banal dialogue. Audiences rarely connect to a play without conflict and many dislike plays where the character remains in the same place they started. It surprises me how many plays are written where the protagonist remains in stasis.

I loved The Sound Inside but it’s a rare bird. Many playwrights find talking to the audience as a cheat, as I do. I feel it cuts corners and lessens the work of the playwright to show rather than explain. It’s less muscular and gives the actor less subtext to use their skills to communicate.

[markypoo]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 7:42pm

Legendary, charismatic, exciting performers like Mary Martin and Robert Preston helped make one two character play that I fondly remember something of a success.
Where did their caliber vanish to?

[jo]

Posted: 1/7/20 at 8:04pm

Happy to share that I did catch a performance of I DO, I DO with Mary Martin & Robert Preston - SRO 

A  STEADY RAIN was gripping, tense and occasionally humorous  - made more so with the portrayals from Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, from Keith Huff's dramatic tale of two rogue cops.

Updated On: 1/7/20 at 08:04 PM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/8/20 at 12:57am

I can't say what makes a successful two-character play, but Patti LuPone and Debra Winger can tell you what makes for an extremely unsuccessful one.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 1/8/20 at 3:09pm

Two interesting characters, one interesting conflict and something to say.... preferably something we haven't seen said the same way before. 

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/8/20 at 3:21pm

I do wonder what made The Anarchist so damn terrible...

And Henrik, that's just the dilemma I'm experiencing. I don't know if I'm saying something in a way that hasn't been "said the same way before." It's hard to critique your own work in that regard.

[AADA81]

Posted: 1/8/20 at 3:43pm

Bettyboy72 said: "I think a two person show follows the same rules as any play. The characters need to be intriguing and draw the audience in (they need not be likable necessarily). The story needs conflict and a precipitating incident that takes the audience and characters in a different direction. Dialogue is music which is why workshopping a play is so important. It needs to be carefully chosen, sharp, smart and effective. It needs to be efficient.

It surprises me how many plays get produced on Broadway that are poorly written-no conflict, no “flip”. Just lots of banal dialogue. Audiences rarely connect to a play without conflict and many dislike plays where the character remains in the same place they started. It surprises me how many plays are written where the protagonist remains in stasis.

I loved The Sound Inside but it’s a rare bird. Many playwrights find talking to the audience as a cheat, as I do. I feel it cuts corners and lessens the work of the playwright to show rather than explain. It’s less muscular and gives the actor less subtext to use their skills to communicate."

Very well said, I must say.  Two strong characters who experience conflict and change in some way IS action in a two-character play.  If the dialogue is well-written and multi-leveled, with strong actors saying it, that can be all the action needed for a great theatrical piece.  I agree with Bettyboy72 about characters talking to the audience being a cheat.  I'd rather see the characters in action rather than have one tell me all about it because there's less tension in the telling.  It's a problem I have with most of Sondheim's later shows, where characters often sing their songs/thoughts to the audience rather than to one another and do an awful lot of explaining.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/8/20 at 9:37pm

markypoo said: "Legendary, charismatic, exciting performers like Mary Martin and Robert Preston helped make one two character play that I fondly remember something of a success.
Where did their caliber vanish to?"

It was a musical brilliantly directed by Gower Champion.  Sometimes, it was hard to believe there were only two people on stage.  Not the samw as a play.  Helps to have RP and MM too.