‘What was uncomfortable?’

Northeast Ohio native a comic with understandable boundary issues, coming home for Cleveland Comedy Festival show this weekend

Less than a decade before he ended up as the sixth lead (more on that later) in the NBC sitcom “Undateable” (more on that later), Northeast Ohio native Rick Glassman discovered the world of stand-up comedy.

At that time, he was fresh out of Kent State University and a year away from moving to Los Angeles. Glassman had just finished a stand-up comedy course at the Cleveland Improv and would perform at open-mic nights whenever possible.

“I was terrified when I’d have a show that night,” said Glassman, a 2002 Orange High School graduate. “I’d sit there and shake. If somebody asked me if something was wrong, I’d say, ‘No, I have a show in nine hours.’”

Still, when he got laughs, the moments were visceral and cathartic — but not for the obvious reasons. Sure, comedians seek affirmation through applause and laughter, but to Glassman the entire experience was something more.

Growing up, he admittedly had problems in school, where he was on different medications. Being funny came naturally to Glassman, who used his quick wit to find acceptance among his peers. However, it wasn’t until last year — when he was diagnosed with level-one autism, or Asperger’s syndrome — that the comic realized his stand-up comedy was a survival technique.

“As a kid, I didn’t intuitively pick up on facial recognition too well,” Glassman said. “I didn’t know how I was received. What I realized as I got older: I think I’m annoying people or making them uncomfortable. My boundaries don’t seem to be their boundaries. Also, I don’t understand what a boundary is.

“What I figured out was by doing comedy and weird stuff, if people think I’m going to be weird — even if I wasn’t conscious of this at the time — I’m going to control the situation. I’m going to beat them to the punch.”

Beating people to the punch and being himself is what Glassman has been doing successfully over the past five years. In addition to his standup comedy, the performer appeared in “Undateable” and its related project “The Sixth Lead.”

The gigs came after Glassman met “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence, who caught one of his sets at the Hollywood Improv. The TV producer complimented the comedian, who often gets compared to Andy Kaufman, for being so comfortable in uncomfortable moments.

“I remember knowing he meant that as a compliment, but thinking, ‘What was uncomfortable?’” Glassman said. “So he gave me my first show, ‘Undateable,’ where I was the sixth lead and had, like, 10 lines a show talking about boobs and farts. At one point, I had a funny meeting with him that I taped where I asked for my character to do something different.

“Out of the footage of that meeting, I made the first episode of ‘The Sixth Lead.’ He liked it and gave me a little budget to do more. It went to festivals, won and got me meetings around town. Now we’re in the middle of developing a project. So ‘The Sixth Lead’ isn’t my biggest credit, but it’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

Up next, Glassman returns to Northeast Ohio as a featured performer in the Cleveland Comedy Festival’s “Homecoming Show” with Kate Quigley taking place Nov. 17 at Playhouse Square’s Hanna Theatre.

“It’s super cool to be playing Playhouse Square,” Glassman said. “That’s very exciting. Having gone there while growing up, it’s like, wow.”

So does this mean Glassman will end up being nervous for the nine hours leading up to the upcoming Cleveland show?

“I don’t get nervous anymore, or I’m always nervous,” Glassman laughed. “Now I get excited. I love doing standup.”

SUBMITTED You might now comic Rick Glassman from “Undakteable” and the related “The Sixth Lead.”