He Said While She
He Said While She (also called Two-Headed Expert or Narration Game) is a scene game in which narration and action interweave: one performer narrates what a character says while the other physically performs and voices the character's actions. The split between narrator and performer creates a dual-track reality in which the narration and the physical performance can align, diverge, or generate irony through contrast. The game rewards physical specificity and the narrator's ability to use the performer's choices.
Structure
Setup
Two performers are designated: a narrator and a performer (or multiple performers for a more complex scene). A suggestion establishes the scenario.
The Scene
The narrator describes the scene in third person -- what the character does, says, thinks, and experiences. The performer enacts the narration in real time, voicing any dialogue the narrator attributes and embodying the described actions.
The relationship between narrator and performer can operate in several modes:
- Synchronous: The narrator describes what the performer does as they do it, following the performer's physical choices.
- Leading: The narrator describes what the performer will do, and the performer follows the narration.
- Contrapuntal: The narrator's descriptions diverge from the performer's actions, creating irony, unreliability, or comedy through the gap.
Escalation
The game can escalate through the narrator's choices: increasing absurdity of description, increasing gap between narration and action, or increasing emotional intensity of the narrated content.
Ending
The scene concludes when the narrator brings the narrated story to a satisfying close.
How to Teach It
Objectives
He Said While She trains the split-attention required to track both narration and physical action simultaneously, the narrator's skill of using the performer's physical choices, and the performer's responsiveness to described reality.
How to Explain It
"One of you narrates -- tell us what your character does, says, feels. The other one does everything you're told, in real time. You can follow the narrator or the narrator can follow you -- figure out who's leading as you go."
Scaffolding
Begin with synchronous narration -- the narrator describes what the performer is already doing -- before introducing leading or contrapuntal modes. This lets both performers find the dual-track rhythm before the game's more complex variations are introduced.
Common Pitfalls
Narrators sometimes default to purely describing physical actions without developing the scene's emotional or relational content -- a running commentary on movement rather than a story. The coaching note is that narration serves the scene, not just the performer: the narrator's job is to author a situation, not to announce a mime performance.
How to Perform It
Audience Intro
"One performer will tell the story. The other will live it. Watch what happens when the story and the life don't quite match."
Cast Size
Ideal: 2 performers. Can expand to 3 with a second narrator or a second performer.
Staging
Narrator slightly apart from the performing space -- perhaps at a microphone stand or a designated stage area -- to signal the narrative role. The performer has the full stage for action.
Wrap-Up Logic
End when the narrated story reaches a strong conclusion, or when a particularly vivid gap between narration and action lands as the scene's climax.
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). He Said While She. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/games/he-said-while-she
The Improv Archive. "He Said While She." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/games/he-said-while-she.
The Improv Archive. "He Said While She." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/games/he-said-while-she. Accessed March 17, 2026.
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