Zoom Autism Magazine Issue 3 Spring 2015 | Page 59

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Inside
Asper Scoop to
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Are Us
Docum
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by jo urphy
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We love a good laugh! And we appreciate the
people in our lives—family, friends, professional
comics—who can make us do a lot of it. Nothing
can relieve stress or tension better than a good
old belly laugh. When we found out that there’s
a comedy troupe of four dudes with Asperger’s
doing “spectrum” humor, we just had to find out
more. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to
interview Alex Lehmann, a filmmaker based in
Los Angeles who is doing a documentary of their
story. Alex has worked for over 10 years as a
cinematographer and producer, mostly on narrative films and TV comedies. Asperger’s Are Us – A
True Story is his directorial debut and first feature
documentary.
Tell us about Jack, Noah, Ethan and New Michael, the Asperger’s Are Us comedy troupe.
All four of these guys are comedians in their
own right. Their skills complement each other
nicely; each guy has his strength. New Michael
comes up with great concepts, Jack has brilliant
deadpan humor, Ethan does characters the best,
and Noah is excellent at fine tuning a sketch to
get it to where it needs to be. They met at a camp
almost 10 years ago, and they’re all on the spectrum.
How did you meet them, and what made you
decide to make a documentary of their lives?
I found them online. The concept of a comedy
troupe with Asperger’s got my attention. When
I found out that they were actually really funny,
then and only then, I knew it was a documentary
worth making.
Give us a synopsis of the film.

Asperger’s Are Us - A True Story documentary film
poster featuring Jack, Noah, Ethan and New Michael,
the Aspergers’s Are Us comedy troupe.
Photo By Alex Lehmann

The guys were all growing up and moving on
with their lives in one way or another. Jack was
leaving to study abroad at Oxford for a year. The
film covers what could well have been their last
show ever. They decided to do something very
special with this sendoff show, and the documentary follows them trying to pull it off from beginning to end. Like any good collaborative artistic
endeavor, it creates conflict. The film has a lot of
laughs and a lot of heart.
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