About Kate B.
The Timeline
2006 Completed my MFA in Performance/Theatre at the Theatre School at Depaul University, Chicago
2010 Founded Vocal Dynamics for Professionals in Louisville, Kentucky
2014 - Established The Speaker’s Studio with a store front in the Butchertown neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky
2019 -Travelled to Italy to study Mask and Movement Theatre at the Atelier de Matteo Destro. Certified: Mask and Movement Theatre
2020 - Returned to Italy to devise a show with a group of international performers. The show opened in Florence, Italy in February 2020 but was cancelled due to the Coronavirus.
2021 - Completed a certification in the Foundation of Embodiment. (Embodiment Unlimited)
2023 - Completed a certification in Shadow Coaching (Wilderness Walk with Suzanne Hannah and George Kerrick)
2024 - After 4 years of being a digital nomad I settled in Greenville, South Carolina
Ever lived through a global pandemic? Oh, wait - you have! So have I! And the result is Kate B Virtual.
Taking it Virtual
Like many, the Pandemic forced me to reimagine my business. I’ve turned to my knowledge of camera and film from my performance background, combining it with a decade of coaching and deliver highly effective virtual team and individual training.
How it Began
One of the results of growing up the daughter of a Baptist Minister was an early interest in in all things Rhetorical and Poetical. And of course, Christmas pageants and drama groups.
From high school theatre and summer programs (Governors School for the Arts in KY and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, NYC) to my MFA at DePaul University in Chicago, my theatre work has taken my all over the world.
A conversation with my father inspired me to offer my experience and knowledge in Voice, Breath, Body, Rhetoric and Linguistics as a coach in Public Speaking, Presence and Communication.
Seeing an opportunity in the Louisville Business community to help Leaders speak more effectively, with more color, more passion, more story and more technique, I took my first client in 2010.
From there things started rolling. Another client. An invitation to speak. A newspaper article about my work led to more inquires. I coached first out of my home, then a yoga studio. Then an office at the beautiful Starks Building in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. And finally, by 2014 a storefront in Butchertown..
That space became The Speaker’s Studio. A place for Leaders and Speakers to practice the Habits and Behaviors of Leadership. This included Applied Improvisation – which dovetailed so wonderfully with what Leaders needed; Mental Agility, Quick Responses, Listening and Learning (or being reminded) to trust their instincts.
Going mobile.
I let go of the physical space of The Speaker’s Studio a few years ago. I went mobile (which is different than virtual I have learned), traveling to clients, offering Improv Trainings, Individual Coaching and Strategic Communications Consulting. I traveled from Dallas to Minneapolis, Saratoga Springs to San Francisco and many place in between. Speaking, training, coaching and facilitating.
There have been countless conferences, keynotes, lots of coaching. Through it all there has been delight seeing my clients succeed not only beyond my expectations but beyond their wildest dreams. It turns out, being a ‘creative’ can lead to all sorts of good things.
In 2017 I began to travel more internationally. When the Pandemic hit it opened a whole new space - the Virtual Space. I found a way to combine my study of Presence, Movement and Space and this new dimension. I now live internationally and work virtually.
I have a YouTube Channel! Click on this video to visit. And don’t forget to subscribe!