A Cleveland comedian who’s appeared on some prestigious stages will be making people laugh Thursday at Kent State University at Trumbull.

Rob Ward wowed the tough crowd at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre to win on “Showtime at the Apollo.” He’s performed in basketball arenas opening for Martin Lawrence on his Lit AF Tour, and regularly opens for Benji Brown on his standup tours. Ward also appeared in the Cleveland episode of Kevin Hart’s Comedy Central series “Hart of the City.”

“I try to take something from each and every person I’ve worked with,” Ward said. “Kevin Hart was so humble, and I got to see his work ethic … He’s a worker. Martin Lawrence was so poised, so calm. Then he gets on stage and turns it on.”

Ward has an origin story similar to many standup comedians. He was a class clown in school who got bit by the standup comedy bug after getting the courage to get up on stage at an open mic night in 2010.

“I was a big sports guy and played baseball in college,” he said. “Comedy saved me and helped redirect my life in a sense. It filled the void I was missing after sports.”

Ward has several videos on Dry Bar Comedy, a Utah-based website known for “clean” or family-friendly comedy. He can work clean, but he also ventures into topics and language that Dry Bar wouldn’t serve.

“I think of myself as a storyteller,” Ward said. “I can be clean or rated R. You have to read the room and understand what you’re being paid for.”

Ward draws on life experiences, from his time working a repo man for a furniture rental company to being a husband and father of three daughters. His kids have seen him perform — a clean show on Father’s Day as part of Akron Rubber Ducks minor league baseball game — and he said he believes it’s important they know what he does for a living.

“I’m a big believer, how can you tell you kids you can be anything you want if they don’t see you doing it,” Ward said.

Doing so requires leading a double life. Ward said when he’s home with his family, he dreads the idea of going out on the road. But when he’s on tour, getting free food and drinks and having people laugh at his jokes and ask for his autograph, he doesn’t want it to end.

Ward has been focusing more on writing lately and currently is shopping two projects, a 30-minute single-camera television series and an animated series.

“That could be huge and life-changing for me,” he said. “I’m always trying to improve, keep my head down and keep working.”