Asperger's Are Us is an American comedy troupe. They are the first comedy troupe consisting entirely of people with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

, though their shows do not reference autism at all.

Biography

Asperger's Are Us formed on the North Shore of Massachusetts in the summer of 2010 after New Michael Ingemi, Jack Hanke, and Ethan Finlan graduated from a summer camp where Noah Britton was their counselor. They have performed over 150 original sketch comedy shows in ten countries and have been interviewed many times by press around the world. They state that their name reflects their "Aspie style of humor, which focuses on dark absurdism and wordplay, which Aspies seem to enjoy a lot". Examples of their humor include selling

death certificates A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...

as tour merch "with blank spaces where we filled in the buyer's name, birthday, and cause of death", onstage haircuts from a randomly chosen audience member during several shows, hiring a real

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

demonstration as an opening act at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, reading all of Dink Johnson's Wikipedia article out loud for a sketch, performing a puppet show explaining complex economic theory, calling Hawaiian hotels (via speakerphone onstage) to ask detailed questions about valet parking options, hiding perennial presidential candidate

Vermin Supreme Vermin Love Supreme (born June 1, 1961) is an American performance artist and activist who has run as a novelty candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States. He served as a member of the Libertarian Party (Unit ...

under a tablecloth onstage for 4 minutes before he walked out to silently wave at the audience and exit, and having the audience vote for a specific stranger's artwork in an online children's art competition. A

Duplass Brothers Productions Duplass Brothers Productions is an American independent film and television production company founded by Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, two brothers who are also actors, directors, producers and writers. They have produced films such as ''The Puf ...

documentary about the troupe was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in late 2016. A follow-up, ''On Tour with Asperger's Are Us'', debuted on HBO on 30 April 2019. Asperger's Are Us disbanded in 2018, but reunited and continued to tour in 2019.

References

External links

* {{authority control Performing groups established in 2010 Performing groups disestablished in 2018 2010 establishments in Massachusetts 2018 disestablishments in Massachusetts American comedy troupes Asperger syndrome Sketch comedy troupes Autism-related organizations based in the United States Films about disability in the United States