51视频

12/01/2016
By Katharine Webster

New Michael Ingemi 鈥� his father is old Michael 鈥� leads a double life.

On campus, he鈥檚 dead serious about his studies as a chemical engineering major and math minor. Off campus, he performs with the comedy troupe , the subject of a by the same name that just debuted on DVD, in theaters and on streaming services.

鈥淢ost of my fellow engineers don鈥檛 know I鈥檓 in a comedy troupe,鈥� says Ingemi, a junior from Beverly. 鈥淢ost of the time at university, I鈥檓 quite stoic, I鈥檓 very serious. It鈥檚 very binary with me.鈥�

Yet he fizzes with barely suppressed comic energy when talking about Asperger鈥檚 Are Us. He writes and co-writes a lot of the sketches for the four-man troupe, analyzing the structure of good jokes and skits in the same way he analyzes math problems.

鈥淎 sketch is like having a structure and a bunch of variables. The variables are how the real world works, and if you manipulate the right variables in the right way, you鈥檒l have a funny sketch,鈥� he says.聽

Ingemi was 12 when he first met the other three members of Asperger鈥檚 Are Us at a summer theater camp for young people on the autism spectrum. Ingemi, Ethan Finlan and Jack Hanke were campers; Noah Britton was a counselor and fellow 鈥淎spie.鈥� The four became best friends over the next few summers because each one totally got the others鈥� senses of humor.聽

Ingemi cut his teeth on 鈥淪outh Park鈥� 鈥� he started watching it with his mom when he was 6 鈥� and 鈥淢ad TV鈥� and 鈥淜ids in the Hall,鈥� which he watched with his dad. As far back as he remembers, he tried to make other people laugh.

鈥淚 realized early on that I got positive feedback and a positive response from people when I made them laugh through something I did on purpose,鈥� he says.

In 2010, when Ingemi, Finlan and Hanke were high school seniors, they decided to form a comedy troupe with Britton. They write sketches that tickle their own funny bones 鈥� and those of anyone who likes punning, absurdist and sometimes dark humor. An example: a sketch about a kid given up for adoption by his parents, who encounter him again when they come to his foster home shopping for a 鈥渂etter鈥� kid.

Asperger鈥檚 Are Us rented small theaters and put on occasional shows for three years, including an appearance at the 2012 51视频 (https://umasslowellclubs.collegiatelink.net/organization/disablethelabel) 鈥淒isable the Label鈥� event, before Ingemi was enrolled here.

Image by Alex Lehmann

But exploiting their own label has sometimes backfired, Ingemi says. While it鈥檚 gotten them lots of media coverage, sometimes people come to see them for the wrong reasons. So just to be clear, they don鈥檛 want your pity. They don鈥檛 want to be uplifting. They want to be funny.

鈥淭he worst thing we fear is being pigeonholed,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to be seen as comedians who happen to have Asperger鈥檚, not people with Asperger鈥檚 who happen to be comedians.鈥澛�

Their comedy eventually caught the attention of filmmaker . His documentary follows the group as they prepare for their 鈥渓ast show鈥� in 2013 before Hanke goes to Oxford University for a year鈥檚 study abroad. The movie premiered at the last March, where Netflix snapped up the distribution rights.聽

Of course, their so-called 鈥渓ast show鈥� wasn鈥檛. While Hanke was in England, Ingemi took math and science classes at North Shore Community College and applied to 51视频. When Hanke returned in fall 2014, the troupe started working on new material.聽

On the strength of the SXSW publicity, Asperger鈥檚 Are Us toured from coast to coast last summer, including a performance at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Last month they opened for Emo Philips at the Boston Comedy Festival. Philips invited them to share the stage after meeting them at a SXSW party and holding an impromptu Bible trivia contest, which Ingemi and Hanke won.

All that was before the film was released in mid-November and received a flood of national media attention, including reviews in and . Asperger鈥檚 Are Us is working with film director Lehmann on a follow-up that showcases their comedy rather than their coming-of-age stories. And they鈥檙e booking so many theater dates that Ingemi isn鈥檛 sure whether comedy or college will take precedence over the next couple of years.

鈥淐omedy鈥檚 my fallback if engineering doesn鈥檛 work out for me,鈥� he jokes, deadpan.