In March of 2018, I announced to the general comedy community in DC that I intended to perform 50 duos before the end of the year. Somehow, I completed that goal on December 28, 2018.
It’s honestly surreal to me that I even reached this point. Scheduling and performing so many duos in a year certainly proved to be an uphill battle at times—the last few weeks I literally raced against the clock, performing duos into the midnight hours in December. But it was an incredibly rewarding and fun project.
After performing 50 duos with 50 different people, I wanted to share some thoughts I had about duoprov. I’m not an expert in duos by any means, but I hope my musings can prove useful or informative for someone who wants to try duoprov.
Why did the 50 Duoprov Project begin?
That’s a good question. The way I started my first duo for the project is a long, convoluted story that begins like this:
In 2015, I joined an indie improv team in DC called The Bystander Effect. This was my first indie team since leaving my old college team, and I loved this team dearly. One of the members of the team, Erik Heaney, and I began to hang out a lot and decided to form a duo to perform extra shows here and there. We took the name Muffin People.
Erik moved away in 2016 (cue sad music, like Mozart’s Lacrimosa, his unfinished requiem), and I didn’t perform a duo for some time.
But in 2017, I met Emily Blumenfeld, who is one of the kindest and most talented people I have the pleasure of knowing in a Harold class at WIT. During that time, I wanted to form a new indie team, so I asked several people from my class, including Emily, to join. A few months later, Emily and I decided to compete in the Dojo Duo Duel, which is an annual duo competition at Dojo. There were so many good duos performing, so it surprised us when we made it into the final round. We were up against Unknown Number (Kelsey Peters and Martin Steger) and Goodison (Neil Barron and Kristina Martinez). Neil and Kristina had just moved to DC at that point, and none of us had seen them perform before. It was a wonderful performance. I laughed until I cried.
That show really changed the way I looked at duoprov and made me want to perform more. Emily and I performed a few other times in 2017 and competed in FIST that year. Whenever I performed with Emily, it literally felt like the best time. There was never a show I looked back on and said, “Wow, that wasn’t as good as our last show.” Every show was fun, exciting, and unique. After our FIST performance, I realized I wanted to experience more of that type of energy. I came up with the 50 Duoprov Project, pitched it to Murphy McHugh at Dojo, and scheduled the first few duos for shows at Dojo Comedy at the end of March.
If this story resonated with you or if you found it at least mildly interesting, you may want to start a duo yourself.
How do I start my own duo?
If the story of the 50 Duoprov Project sparked your interest in duos, you can follow some of my tips below. My number one piece of advice for duoprov (or any comedy endeavor you want to try) is to just start doing it and go from there.
In all honesty, this isn’t the best advice. I know this because I hardly follow the advice I give myself. But it’s true. I tend to believe that if an idea won’t leave you, it’s best to pick it up and run with it. If you want to try duoprov, try it. It’s super fun.
How do I find a duo partner?
One great thing about doing comedy in DC (or any community that has a comedy scene) is that people are often not just really fun to perform with, but eager to perform and help. If you want a duo partner, I would start by asking:
Current team members: So many people in the DC improv community are performing on one team—and oftentimes far more. If you want to form a duo, the first place I would look for a duo partner is with a team member on a team you currently perform with. About a third of the duo partners for my project are my team members from Maple Sunday, Oh That Baby, or Billy Kowalski’s Brother.
Former team members: It’s always a sad day when an improv team disbands for whatever reason. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still perform with your former teammates in duo form. If you’re looking for a duo partner, I would also reach out to former teammates to see about their availability.
Coaches, teachers, and mentors: I’m sure everyone reading this has been inspired by a great improv teacher or coach. I know I have. One joy of performing the 50 Duoprov Project has been that I was able to work with several current and former improv teachers and coaches. I know the teachers and coaches of the improv community tend to be among the busiest people we all know, but it doesn’t hurt to reach out about duos, especially for a show or event that’s only happening once.
Why should I perform duoprov?
That’s a good question and it’s also one that only you can answer. That being said, I think everyone should try performing duoprov at least once. Here’s why:
Duos are really fun
This is probably self explanatory because a lot of improv is fun. But I think duos are really, really fun. There’s a certain freedom to performing a duo that I don’t typically feel when performing improv in larger groups. Duos can provide an opportunity to do things like double cast yourself or scene paint. Of course, you can do these things with other groups, but it’s especially helpful and useful—and sometimes necessary—in a duo set.
Duos can open up some really interesting dialogue
Since duos are only performed with two people, a lot of conversation can occur on a one-on-one basis. That’s a really cool and special thing. If you’re like me, you probably bring at least some of your real life (in terms of personal anecdotes) into improv scenes. As weird as this may sound, some of the best conversations I had in 2018 were brought up during duos.
Duos can provide an opportunity to try something different
Duos are a great way to try a different or unique format or even make something up to try with your scene partner. Even performing a two-person Harold or Spokane is a great way to experience improv formats in a unique way.
What did I learn about duoprov by finishing this project?
I received this question from several people and I think it’s a really good question!
First, I learned that improv, at its core, is really about active listening. In duoprov, no one is going to come off the back line and save you if you’re not listening to what’s being said. You really need to focus on the scene at hand and listen.
Second, I learned that patience is such a virtue in improv. Starting scenes slowly and deliberately and putting your faith in another person requires a lot of patience, but it’s so worth it.
Last, I learned that improvisers approach improv in different ways. Many of us have taken similar, if not the same, improv classes. But so many of us take different approaches to improv. Even though we know the same fundamentals, our play styles are different. That’s interesting to me! It’s interesting to play one-on-one with someone you’ve watched perform before or perhaps have performed with for a long time. Sometimes they can come out of left field and do something totally unexpected. Some of my favorite nights of this project were the nights I did several duos for the project in a row. All of them would be monoscenes, but one duo would be patient, one would be off the rails, and one would include singing.
I’m so fortunate I was able to learn and improvise with so many people this year. For those interested in duoprov, I highly recommend trying it out and getting a duo started.
What’s next?
Now that the 50 Duoprov Project is over, you might be wondering, “What is Stacey Axler’s next project?” I have several things in the works and am currently planning a new one-woman show called Overwhelmed, which will premier at Dojo in 2019! I’m also working with Comedic Pursuits to plan a new comedy series that will give back to local nonprofits. I look forward to announcing these online soon.
Have a great 2019, and I wish you the best of luck in all of your own projects!
Want more comedy info?
- Not quite ready to try duoprov but are ready to form a team? Check out some advice for forming an improv group.
- On the opposite end of that spectrum, do you want to ditch improv and head out onstage alone? Try stand-up.
