A two-person acting item in which a pair perform a short scene together, entered as one team and marked on how well each plays a character and how well the two work off each other.
Duologue Acting is a team class for exactly two performers who act a scene together. On the eTalenter template built from a 2027 English drama festival syllabus it sits beside Solo Acting in the Action category: where the solo class asks one person to hold the stage alone, the duologue class asks two people to share it, each with their own character, their own wants and a scene that only works when both are listening.
The class is split into six age tiers by the pair's age or school year: 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 17 and under and Open Adult (18 and over). In the template the 8-and-under tier is carried by both the 6-and-under and 7-8 groups, because the source offers a single class for that whole range. Boys and girls enter together, the language is English, and each entry is one pair, not two individual performers.
The time allowed is counted per performer and grows with age: 3 minutes for the 8-and-under and 10-and-under tiers, 4 minutes for 12 and under and 14 and under, 5 minutes for 17 and under and 6 minutes for Open Adult. The template carries no warning bell, so a pair has to manage its own clock. The festival's published entry fees are per duo, which confirms that the pair is the unit of entry and of ranking.
A round has no set to speak of. The pair walk on, take their opening positions, perform and leave, so a chair, a table or a single prop usually stands in for a whole room. The adjudicator is watching the relationship at least as much as the lines: who wants what, how the balance of power shifts, and whether each performer reacts to the other instead of waiting for their cue. Marks are nominal, out of 10, because the source syllabus prints no mark scheme.
Organisers run the class because it is the natural next step after solo acting. It teaches listening, shared timing and trust, gives friends or siblings a reason to rehearse together, and produces a varied programme because every pair makes different choices even when two of them pick the same genre.
Where Duologue Acting is run
In eTalenter's data this item appears on one template, an English competitive-festival drama syllabus from Worcestershire in England, run as a one-day Poetry, Prose and Drama programme on a Saturday in March 2027 with early-bird entries closing at the start of December 2026. Similar two-person classes are common in English and Commonwealth speech-and-drama festivals under names such as Duologue or Dramatic Duologue, but the rules differ by event, so always read the time limit, age definition and script rules of the festival you enter.
- United Kingdom - England (Worcestershire festival drama syllabus)
Key facts
- Team entry of exactly two performers; boys and girls together; performed in English.
- Six age tiers: 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 17 and under and Open Adult (18 and over).
- Time limit per performer: 3 minutes (8 and under, 10 and under), 4 minutes (12 and under, 14 and under), 5 minutes (17 and under), 6 minutes (Open Adult); no warning bell on the template.
- Marks are a nominal 10-point convention on the template; the source syllabus prints no mark scheme, so organisers should tell entrants how characterisation and interaction will be weighed.
- The sister item Solo Acting on the same template offers a finer youngest split (6 and under, then 7-8); the duologue class has one 8-and-under tier.
- Idea starters, not rules: two neighbours discovering the same lost parcel, a customer and a shop assistant disagreeing over a refund, two friends planning a surprise that goes wrong, or a teacher and pupil waiting for results.
On eTalenter, Duologue Acting is filed under Action and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Duologue Acting is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 3–6 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Duologue Acting
What a Duologue Acting panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Characterisation of both parts: each performer has a clear voice, posture and purpose, and keeps it for the whole scene; a pair loses marks when one performer is vivid and the other is only feeding lines.
- Interaction and listening: eye contact, reactions and pauses show that each performer hears the other; scenes read as two people in conversation, not two recitations delivered side by side.
- Shape of the scene: a clear beginning, a turning point and an ending inside the time limit, so the piece feels like a complete mini-story rather than an extract that stops mid-way.
- Voice and clarity: both performers are audible at the back of the room, speak at a varied pace and avoid talking over each other unless the script calls for it.
- Stage use and staging: positions, movement and entrances that help the audience see both faces and follow the relationship, with props kept to what the rules allow.
- Time discipline: finishing close to the limit for the tier, without rushing the last lines or being stopped mid-scene.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Duologue Acting under Scoring Setup, or start from the full drama & skit judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Duologue Acting
How entrants and their teachers usually get Duologue Acting right on the day:
- Choose a scene that fits the tier's time: 3 minutes for the youngest pairs is only a page or two, so cut hard and keep one clear situation and a clean ending.
- Pick two parts of similar weight so both performers have something to do; a scene where one part has almost all the lines is a solo with a bystander.
- Rehearse with a stopwatch against the per-performer limit and trim until the piece lands inside it with room to breathe, since there is no warning bell on the template.
- Learn the lines separately first, then rehearse the cues: most duologue mistakes happen in the gap between one line ending and the next starting.
- Decide where each character stands and moves, and mark the first and last positions, so the pair enter and finish together without fuss.
- Practise looking at each other, not out at the audience, for most of the scene; reserve direct audience contact for the opening and the final moment.
- Perform it for a small audience and ask who they believed, where the scene dragged and whether the ending was clear, then rework only those spots.
- After a loss, ask which part cost the marks: one weaker performer, a flat middle, or unclear voices; rehearse that single problem before the next event.
Frequently asked questions
Is Duologue Acting judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
How long is a Duologue Acting performance?
On the template the limit is counted per performer: 3 minutes for 8 and under and 10 and under, 4 minutes for 12 and under and 14 and under, 5 minutes for 17 and under and 6 minutes for Open Adult. Other festivals set their own limits, so check the rules of the event you enter.
Is Duologue Acting the same as a Duologue?
They are the same kind of scene for two actors. eTalenter keeps them as separate catalogue items because festivals name and structure the classes differently; the Worcestershire-style class here is called Duologue Acting and sits beside Solo Acting.
Are the two performers judged separately?
No. The pair is one entry and receives one result. Each performer's character and the way the two work together both count, but the ranking is for the duo.
Can the two performers be different ages?
The tier is set by the age or school year definition of the class, so check how the festival you enter measures a pair's age before choosing a tier. The template groups boys and girls together without separating them.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full drama & skit judging criteria guide, or browse every action competition item.
Try Duologue Acting in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Duologue Acting, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
