"Dennis Black, the 'straight man'"

In a comedy team, the 'straight man' keeps things moving and feeds lines to his partner to play off of. In Alumni Arena on Saturday night, Dennis Black, the vice president for Student Affairs, kept up best he could joke-for-joke with quirky comedian Conan O'Brien.

From taking flak for everything from his "unnaturally" tan skin after a long Buffalo winter to his non-prescription reading glasses, Black not only moderated students' questions - he provided a wealth of improv material for the "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" host.

"I was born as a straight man," said Black, who usually spends his days in his office on the fifth floor of Capen doing his nine-to-five job. Last weekend, he showed those in attendance at O'Brien's speech that he can stay on point and transition between punch lines with the best of them.

Black did it all with the help of a set of note cards with student questions on them - cards that O'Brien had no problem playing off of.

"You and your little cards," O'Brien said to Black on stage, "Who do you think you are, controlling Conan O'Brien? You're sick."

Sometimes, Black's presence was an outlet for stage banter similar to what O'Brien would normally direct to his "Late Night" drummer Max Weinberg.

O'Brien: "You hate me."

Black: "It's too early in the relationship for that."

O'Brien: "There's a fire in this man."

The pi?(c)ce de r?(c)sistance of Black's sidekick performance came with a dance lesson live on stage from O'Brien. Although he didn't master the comic's moves - "I think you're having a stroke," O'Brien said - the moment is one Black will not soon forget.

"I think that that's a tape that's going to show up," Black said. "I'll have visions of me dancing on stage with Conan O'Brien for life."

Until further notice, Black is planning on keeping his day job.