Close Quarters
mid-1990s-present · Chicago / New York
Also known as Tracers
Multiple two-person scenes happening simultaneously in the same physical space — characters know each other are there but can only talk to one partner.
Known for
- Originated as Close Quarters at Second City Chicago in the mid-1990s; Kevin Mullaney brought it to UCB as 'Tracers.'
- Scenes occur at the same time in adjacent/overlapping spaces — a restaurant kitchen while the dining room scene plays, a car while someone walks outside.
- Stages multiple two-person dynamics concurrently; players balance 2-3 simultaneous scenes.
- Tracers variant lets scenes show different moments in time within the same location — effectively a temporal macroscene.
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