In simple terms, the Base Reality of a scene is the Who, the What, and the Where. Think of a metaphor of the scene being a house. The base reality is the foundation. Not only does base reality help add context to those who are watching, but it establishes an agreed-upon context where the scene can build upon in order to find the funny. Not everything can be off the wall, that’s just nuts. There needs to be a foundation from which the first unusual thing can be found.
The sooner you can establish a base reality, the quicker you can get into the meat of the scene and find the game. This part doesn't need to be funny, it just needs to be agreed upon by your scene partners. It’s actually better if the base reality isn’t funny, then the rest of the scene can be funny. When we have a funny base reality it then bakes the unusual into the base and therefore it cannot be unusual.
Example:
Person A: “I love living on the moon. The views are spectacular.”
Person B: “So do I, there is nothing more wonderful than having a spacious apartment on the moon in 2055.”
This is not unusual. We have agreed that in this year, 2055, people will live on the moon and it’s great. If the improviser thinks they are injecting weird in from the jump, it accidentally gets baked into our base and is no longer unusual. If we want living on the moon to be unusual it can’t be the first thing we learn about the scene.
Example:
Person A: “Cindy, you’re my devoted wife of fifteen years. Happy Anniversary. I hope you like this fancy French restaurant!”
Person B: “It’s wonderful, Mary, I love you more and more every day. I got you this bunch of long-stemmed red roses to symbolize my fidelity to you.”
Person A: “Thank you! That being said, I never thought we would make it to fifteen years and I actually signed up to go to the moon tomorrow.”
Person B: “What? You’re leaving for the moon?”
Person A: “Yeah, I figured I would be sick of you by now, so I signed up to head out. But we had a good run. I’m excited to be on the ground floor of the next stage of space exploration. Living on the moon!”
The base reality is, a married couple, together for fifteen years at a French restaurant celebrating. The unusual is that Person A is leaving for the moon because they didn’t think their love would last this long.
Here are some helpful reminders to quickly establish your base reality.
Who
Knowing who you are is a great place to start. Not just in life, but in improv scenes as well. Whether you outright name yourself or name your scene partner and let them name you, there are several ways to get this out.
“As your landlord, I think….”
“Steve, we’ve been brothers your entire life…”
“Ever since we’ve been dating, I’ve wanted to tell you…”
“Alright troops, muster up!”
These are all examples of quickly getting out the who (and some get out the relationship as well) so you can proceed with the scene.
Where
Floating in a nebulous cloud is a good way to lose the audience and confuse other performers. Giving the scene a setting not only helps create an environment you can interact with, but it also can impact the character’s emotions.
Emotion
How do you feel, or how does your character feel? Are they happy, mad, sad, depressed, confused? These traits can help you choose a side in the scene and create conflict for later—which is always more interesting in a scene. In improv we always want to start with one emotion and ride it out to completion. In drama we can explore complex characters that have a range of emotions. In improv, we stick with one choice. NEVER change horses in the middle of the stream.
Relationship
What’s your relationship to your scene partner? Lovers, business partners, yoga teacher/students, nosy neighbors/letter carriers all work. Your relationship can also be a power dynamic—or status. Are you superior to everyone else and in charge or playing meek and timid? This is also a relationship. Getting this relationship out quickly will help your scene partner as well as keep the audience engaged with some real stakes.
Procedure
What’s going on in the scene is important because it gives everyone something to do with their bodies. Instead of just standing around talking about scooping ice cream, you can scoop some ice cream. Or give a haircut. Or DJ a wedding. Sometimes having conversations that have nothing to do with what you’re doing in the scene is interesting too.
Hopefully these tips can stick in your mind the next time you’re either performing or watching improv. If you’re watching, see if you can find some new techniques for quickly establishing the base reality. A well-established base reality is the first step to a successful improv scene.