Never write: 

  What were you doing at Pat’s dinner lathering your face with a
  charlotte russe?

Write it: 

  So you were down at Pat’s house for dinner, and you went and
  lathered your face with a charlotte russe—­I saw you.

Of course when a legitimate question is to be asked, ask it.  But do not deliberately throw your points into question form.  Your guide to the number of direct queries you would use should be the usual conversational methods of real life.

Your subject, of course, in a large measure determines how many questions you need to ask.  For instance, if your theme is one that develops a lot of fun through one character instructing the other, a correspondingly large number of questions naturally would be asked.  But, as “The Art of Flirtation” plainly shows, you can get a world of fun out of even an instruction theme, without the use of a wearying number of inquiries.  The two-act fashion today is the direct, conversational style.

Now for the second suggestion: 

Although some exceedingly successful two-acts have been written with many themes scattered through their twelve or more minutes, probably a larger number have won success through singleness of subject.  A routine with but one subject worked up to its most effective height is often more likely to please.

Furthermore, for the reason that the two-act is breaking away from the offering that is merely pieced together out of successful bits—­precisely as that class of act struggled away from the old slap-stick turn—­the single-routine now finds readier sale.  The present tendency of the two-act seems to be to present clever characterization—­and so to win by artistic acting, as before it won by cruder methods.

Therefore, strive for unity of routine.  Treat but one subject and amplify that one subject with singleness of purpose.

The point, or the gag, of a two-act is very much like that of the monologue.  In so far as construction is concerned—­by this I mean laugh-wave construction—­they are identical.  Study “The Art of Flirtation,” and you will see how little laughs precede big laughs and follow after, mounting into still bigger laughs that rise into roars of laughter.

1.  Introducing a Point

If you were telling a joke to a friend you would be sure to tell him in your very first sentence all the things he would need in order to understand the point of the joke, wouldn’t you?  You would take great care not to leave out one salient bit of information that would make him see the joke plainly—­you would be as logical as though you were trying to sell him a bill of goods.  Take the same attitude toward each point that you introduce into your two-act.  Remember, you are wholesaling your “jokes” to the comedians, who must retail them to their audiences.  Therefore, introduce each new point as clearly and as briefly as you can.