Secret Time Travel Meeting with Shawn Wickens 

(Interview followed by review)

“Just because we don’t know what the solution is, doesn’t mean that the solution isn’t out there”

In conversation with New York, self-titled, stoner comedian Shawn Wickens, we discuss his innovative + curious approach to comedy, his hunger for the challenge of touring this show + the continuous evolution of his show Secret Time Travel Meeting, which has previously been described as ‘a sci-fi church for comedy nerds’.

“I sometimes say during the show that the thesis statement behind it is existential optimism.”

Shawn’s work encourages us to look forward to tomorrow rather than mulling over the bleakness of today. Starting out in comedy improv + then finding his way into stand-up comedy, Shawn’s work is a intermingling of the two, with extra elements of surprise available in each show - he mentioned that he was totally comfortable being on stage without a plan, which is where the audience comes in. He shares the importance of reading the room but how sometimes as performers we can misjudge what’s happening. Shawn talks about a show he did in Baltimore, Maryland, 4 hours out of NY, where he felt he couldn’t get the audience onside for the first 40 minutes, but then something magic happened in the last 10 minutes and the show turned out really well. It’s not always predictable and it seems like he works with mystery well.

“I don’t ever do the same show twice, because there is interactivity involved”

When he first tested out his ideas for the show in shorter timeslots, with mixed success, he noticed a curiosity to create open conversation between himself + the audience which lead to the current premise of his show. Shawn also more recently invited audience members to arrive at his performance space in costume, which has attracted a lot of cosplayers - in one instance he had women arrive as intergalactic aliens in homemade exoskeleton suits with lights. With the levels of interactivity Shawn loves inviting, I imagine this would certainly make for an interesting show.

“a ‘whoa’ is sometimes even better than a laugh”

Shawn says that when he was in comedy school he felt that looking for a laugh was the priority. He never understood the parts of comedy where a groan or a feeling of disgust were framed as ‘just as good’. This project allowed him to take the laugh one step further, to the feeling of ‘whoa’ - a sense of hilarity + awe at the same time. It sounds like what he is going for is a sense of re-enchantment, which I imagine ties in with his theme of existential optimism perfectly. Speaking of optimism, I find Shawn’s desire to tour over performing in his home city fascinating and quite relatable. He shared that putting on his show elsewhere is challenging and can be costly, but the cost of putting on work in New York would probably outweigh it. Rather than martyring over this situation, he saw it as an opportunity to keep his show on the road and exploring new places. That being said, he is anticipating that his show will soon be ready to perform back home.

“I do have a lot of weird jobs that keep me financially fit”

Shawn, like many other independent artists has dipped his toes in many different roles to upkeep his creative spirit + funding for his work - before COVID he worked as a window cleaner + freelance theatre carpenter. Now his work is more fully in the creative industry - he works part-time for a Improv Comedy Theatre in NY called The Pit, doing graphic design + website stuff. He also is a freelance joke-writer + comedy coach, and he is currently co-producing underground 420 friendly comedy shows with a good friend. That being said, he also picks up market research consulting gigs when they’re available to bring in some extra dollar.

Shawn has an expansive attitude towards live theatre - he suggests to go and see shows that are in our periphery, or that we don’t know much about - when we take a chance on these shows we are creating an opportunity to be surprised + this is more rewarding than going to a show where we know what we’re going to get. I couldn’t agree more with this OG Fringe mindset - Fringe was created from experimentation + curiosity and I deeply respect artists who uphold these values as the sector becomes more capitalised + commercial.

My Review

Secret Time Travel Meeting represents a whimsical, wiggly chance that people should take on alt comedy. The show is held in a super unexpected yet brilliant underground venue at the Mylk Bar on Waymouth. We walked through what looked like a high-end dinner party + one of the waiters took one look at me + pointed me towards the ‘back room’. The feeling of questing had begun before the show had even started. I walked down to an underground room away from the buzz into the perfect location for this show.

A fellow comedian from New York, who was performing a show later that evening, opened the show with a small bit - it gave us a flavour of how international artists support each other in new places and it gave us the impression that Shawn is a humble + inclusive guy - which we saw to be true as soon as he took to the stage. This show is a slow burn; it takes it’s time to warm up, after all, Shawn is a stoner comedian. I really appreciated the time Shawn took to get a feel of who was in the audience + what content mattered to us. He gave us some choices of where he would take the show next which gave us permission to be included, yet at the same time his jokes + stories would meander on tangents, like we were in his living room with him. We ended up having some really deep + expansive chats - the perfect stoned conversation that could’ve gone on for hours.

What really struck me was Shawn’s optimist attitude towards the future - it’s infectious + highly believable. I acknowledge the courage it takes, in this current time, where it seems more popular to fall into projections of doom, to stand up on stage and say, ‘I believe we’re going to get better, that actually the future is going to be great’. The content that Shawn shared with us was a mixture of scientific facts, philosophies, personal theories + stories from friends. He also would pause regularly to invite our thoughts + questions - which I really enjoyed because we were a mixed bunch in the audience, and I imagine he gets a really different pool of people each time. As soon as he started inviting us into the discussion, I could see that people in the audience were burning with questions + thinking deeply about what was being shared. It was fascinating to see a stand-up comedian do a bit and then suddenly become the chairperson of a really interesting conversation. Within this role, I wondered if there was a way Shawn could encourage the more quiet folks to engage - I imagine it’s sometimes ends up being the same extroverted voices asking questions.

Secret Time Travel Meeting is not just a show, it’s one of his generous ways to get others moving forward with more curiosity, creative agency + hope. Shawn shared his book ‘Time Machine Blueprints’ (check it out here - https://www.amazon.com.au/Time-Machine-Blueprints-Shawn-Wickens/dp/B0B3M54YXK) which follows the same principles as his show - giving the audience lots of space to include what they think, honouring how much we don’t actually know about the future + how we can fill that space with creativity, dreams + hope. All of his merch was also just really funny - like a VIP lanyard for Secret Time Travel Meeting + a recipe for his weed brownies. It feels like he is really forging a new way to perform, to make art + culture - both holding is own + inviting us in! There is no pretence in his demeanour + no feeling of forcing positivity onto us which is also anomalous… it felt like a warm sun we were actually wanting to travel towards.

One of my favourite quotes from the show was ‘humans grow’. I left the show with a spring in my step, with a connection to cosmic possibility and that if I put one foot forward in a positive direction, the other foot would probably want to come too. This show leaves a bundle of curiosity in your pocket so that you can see the world from a new perspective. Go place yourself in the kind + wondering presence of Shawn Wickens - you’ll be sure to leave a changed human.