Two Item Minimum is a workplace dramedy about the back-of-house and front-of-house staff at a mid-size city comedy club with two very active rooms and a lively, diverse cast of characters. The focus is minimal on standup and maximal on the people setting and resetting the show—the staff facilitating the events behind the scenes.
The project exists as a one-act script performed within a full-scale recreation of a comedy club's infrastructure: sound booth, back hallway, and small stage. The set is built in place within the gallery and set into motion as a functional working comedy club, with a back hallway designed in the style of a Bruce Nauman corridor installation.
The script is performed by five actors and recorded for later playback on a monitor within the sound booth. Once documented, the space becomes usable for small audiences as an actual open mic venue inside the gallery. The "bar" is stocked with specially branded canned cold brew—each can representing an actual earned shift drink the artist received throughout 2025 as part of his compensation for shifts worked at Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh, NC.
Space Requirements
any
Project Investment Range
$35,000-$50,000+
Can include all artist fees, materials and fabrication, travel and lodging (contiguous US) , transportation of work, installation labor, artist lecture or workshop
These projects can be adapted to specific institutional contexts, budgets, and timelines. For inquiries, space planning, or to request a detailed proposal, contact Anna Rooney Thorp (anna@studiothorp.com)
Full portfolio at jonathanbrilliant.com
