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 my knowledge of camera and film from my performance background, combining it with a decade of coaching and deliver highly effective 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 Theatre & the Performing Arts. As well as all things Rhetorical and Poetical
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.
In 2009, I was living in Louisville, KY and unhappy with my 9-5 job. 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.
Curious if I can help you?
In 2019 I spent time in San Miniato Italy studying Mask and Movement Theatre. In 2020 I returned. This time as part of project to devise a show and tour Italy. The tour was just getting started when Coronavirus began spreading across the Continent. Ultimately the tour was cancelled. Here’s a little of that story.