Meet David Horning | Comedian & Producer Of Secret Society Comedy

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Horning and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’ve always been a creator, and post-COVID, there was a need for quality independent comedy shows in Cleveland. After complaining that no one else was stepping up to fill the need, Gheramy, Bryan, and myself decided to join forces and build something that we’d be proud of, rather than whine about the problem.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What sets Secret Society Comedy apart from other independently produced comedy shows is that we’re comedians first, so our focus is on creating trust and building relationships with our audiences and the comedians we book on our shows. Every decision we make is approached through the lens of whether it will improve the audience and comedian experience or not. Of course, starting anything isn’t easy, and we HAVE faced challenges like booking too many shows during the summer months and losing A LOT of money, but we learned that competing with warm weather in Ohio is a fool’s errand and are scaling back on shows for our third summer. We started as almost a challenge to the idea that late night comedy would never work in Cleveland, so we do have our detractors, but if you work hard to maintain your commitment to provide a positive experience for your audience/clients/customers and your employees, you’ll learn to let the negativity bounce off of you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
People sleep on Cleveland as a destination, but living here, I don’t see it that way. Personally, I love the food scene here, specifically places that are constantly experimenting like Cordelia, Salt, Cloak & Dagger, LBM, Cent’s, Larder – there are too many to name. If it’s in the summer, you can’t miss a Cleveland Guardians game or a walk through one of our MetroParks. The art museum is free and, as a comedian, I’m always finding new angles on their ever-changing exhibits. Of course, you’ve got to top it all off with a late night Secret Society Comedy show in the Mahall’s Apartment. There’s truthfully no other comedy experience like it

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to anyone who has ever taken on the task of self-producing independent comedy shows in a small market city like Cleveland. Specifically those who provided guidance when we first started like Bill Squire, Ramon Rivas, Mary Santora, John Bruton, and Joel Byers of the Hot Breath Podcast. Personally, I owe my self-starting mindset to my dad, but also those experts I’ve learned from through their works, such as Adam Grant (author of Think Again), Simon Sinek (Start With Why), Jack Canfield (The Success Principles), and so many more to name.

Website: secretsocietycomedy.com

Instagram: instagram.com/secretsocietycomedy

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/watercoolerdavid

Facebook: facebook.com/secretsocietycomedy

Other: watercoolercomedy.org/privatecomedy to book a private/corporate comedy experience.