Comedian Lewis Black gives class on comedy, performance and his career at the National Comedy Center during a visit Wednesday. P-J photo by Jordan W. Patterson

Comedian Lewis Black is normally seen by the public performing his set. But today he gave a class on the art of comedy, stage presence and how he became a stand up.

Inside the National Comedy Center, local residents were able to purchase tickets to see Black in a session titled “Standup BS With Lewis Black.”

With a line to the front doors in the lobby with people eager to see the comedian, Black told The Post-Journal he was going to try to recall a decade ago when he used to give similar classes to actors.

“There might be something to be gotten out of doing a version of how, essentially, I went from writing plays to becoming a stand up to basically how I teach stand up,” Black said. “It’s not even teaching stand up. It’s getting people up to experience what being on stage is like doing stand up — the experience of stand up.”

Black has been a longtime advocate and promoter of the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and the National Comedy Center. Ahead of the NCC’s opening last year, Black promoted the event on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” wearing a comedy center shirt on national television.

Black will give a similar class on Aug. 7 on opening day of the comedy fest.

See Thursday’s edition of The Post-Journal for more coverage.