As he preps for Sacramento, Shawn Wayans feels like he’s still hitting his comedic stride

Few, if any, families have touched as many generations as the Wayans.

By the time Shawn and his brother Marlon Wayans created and starred in their own sitcom and movie, audiences had already gotten to know them through their older brothers Keenen and Damon’s “In Living Color.”

Once the new millennium came around, their fame reached new heights with the theatrical successes of the “Scary Movie” franchise, and cult-classic movies “White Chicks” and “Little Man,” all of which Shawn and Marlon wrote and starred in.

While some comedians traded the stage for the silver screen, Shawn never gave up his first-love: stand-up comedy.

The Bee caught up with him ahead of his two-night stop at the Punch Line Sacramento where he will be performing two shows a night Aug. 12 and 13.

Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

What are your impressions of Sacramento?

Northern California is pretty cool. I was last there probably in 2019 right before the COVID pandemic. I always have a fun time performing up there. I haven’t really spent much time in the city to actually do stuff to really tell you though.

But the people are cool, so it’s always a great crowd. They come to have fun and they can’t hold their liquor that much. [Laughs.]

Is there anything you’re noticing touring after the shutdowns?

People are just excited to come have fun and they want to have a good time. I can feel the excitement in their spirits when I’m up there. And rightfully so, they’ve been through a lot.

Farthest I’ve gone on this recent tour is probably Washington. But I’m about to change that. I’m going to do some gigs in the Midwest and on the East Coast soon.

After all of these years in comedy, what are some things you think you’re better at now?

As you grow as a man, you grow as a comedian. When I was starting out, I was a little boy doing comedy, so I talked about little boy things. But now that I’m a man, I have more insight into life, so I talk about more adult things.

I just love stand-up. I love the artform, the freedom and I love performing for the audience. You know, it’s just what my life is: I observe, I write things down and then I regurgitate.

Can you imagine trying to break into comedy now?

I think my approach still would have been the same. You know, it’s all about logging stage time. I’d like to think that I still would have gotten the advice from my brothers that I got, and I would have followed it and been on my way.

Was there a moment where you felt like, ‘Hey, you know what, I’m actually good at this?’

I would say that usually happens somewhere in your 10th year, where you feel like you’re starting to get the knack for it and know what you’re doing. Yeah, it takes a while.

Do the work and focus on getting good. Ten years sounds like a lot, but even after that, you’re still a baby in the grand scheme of things.

On that topic, is there anyone currently coming up in the comedy scene that you enjoy watching?

I’m kind of in my own little bubble, so I don’t really know anybody coming up. But I still keep up with my generation, like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart and Bill Burr. I love watching them.

How do you look back on you and your brothers’ prolific run on-screen, and is that a medium you can see yourself returning to?

Boy, that was fun. We were in a fun time and I’m glad we got on the scoreboard. If there’s the right opportunity to come back, then yeah, I would definitely do something funny. But until that comes, I’m here.

DJing is something that you’ve always had in your bag…

I do it for fun and to hear music that you don’t really get to hear anymore. I’m all about that old-school while most DJs are on to the new.

Old school to me is Evelyn “Champagne” King, the S.O.S. Band, and Lisa Lisa. They’re the greats.

What’s the last best thing you watched?

The last comedy that made me really laugh was “The Wrong Missy” (on Netflix).

What do you want to tell the people of Sacramento ahead of your shows?

We’re going to have fun together. But stay in your seat! Don’t run up to the stage and be doing some crazy stuff to me.

Shawn is performing at the Punch Line comedy club in Sacramento on Aug. 12 and 13, where he will be doing a 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. show each day. Tickets are available online.

This story was originally published August 5, 2022 at 12:00 AM.