RESEARCHER
The entertainment I create always starts with research. I start with a question about something in the world around me that I can’t find a satisfactory answer to with a quick google.
Many times the question is “why is _______ so messed up??”.
While I’m adept at reading academic and scientific jargon, I write my outlines and summaries in “bar talk”. I get hyped up about the discoveries and connections I make, and that comes through in my writing. The entertainment I create gives my audience a sense of agency, connection, and belonging, no matter how obscure or dense the subject. Throw in some irreverence, puns, and an inevitable crush on someone in the story, and you’ve got a Kate Downey show!
why your train is f*cked live show
Get on board for a deep dive into the history of the MTA. Whether you love it, hate it, or want to compose more informed rage-tweets about it during your next 20 minute delay - we've got you covered. Your hosts Meg Pierson (TEDx, VERSUS) and Justin Williams (City College, SirusXM), along with a mysterious “man on the inside”, will conduct our show through the twists and turns of history; revealing unbelievable stories, subway life-hacks, and truly upsetting details about our subway system.
I created this show in March 2018 after a particularly delayed subway ride. I wasn’t so mad about the actual delays - it was not knowing WHY the delays were happening that pissed me off. I realized there was a huge audience in NYC for pissed-off subway riders, and decided to create a show to give them answers (and a fun night out). Each show consisted of deeply researched comedic monologues that broke down the complicated history and infrastructure of one element of the subway system we love to hate, as well as comedians’ stories, transit expert guests, and featured buskers. In the two years the show ran monthly, it became a sold-out event with a dedicated audience of transit enthusiasts, MTA employees, and regular subway riders.
Museum hack “un-highlights” tours
As an early employee at the museum tour start-up Museum Hack, I created original “f***ing awesome” 2-hour tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art based on my own research. These high-energy renegade tours covered 20-25 pieces, with stops in almost every department. I featured stops like “The Met’s First F*ck Up”, “Who Took all the Dicks in Greek and Roman”, and “The $130M Elbow Hole” (at the Picasso pictured here).
Later in my time at Museum Hack, as Creative Lead, I hired and trained new tour guides in research methods and fact-checked their new material.
badass bitches of the met tour
After two years of researching and touring the Met’s overwhelmingly male-centric collection, I created this tour inspired by the Guerrilla Girls’ punk-rock, patriarchy-busting poster series.
It revealed how little representation female artists STILL have at the Met, stories of powerful but little-known women from history, and unexpected discoveries that put women in the spotlight.
Badass Bitches of the Met became one of Museum Hack’s best-selling specialty tours. I essentially franchised it, trained other guides to give the tour and research new material that fit within its scope, and it continues to be one of the company’s most popular tours.
“powder Her Face” at bam with new york city opera
As Assistant Director to Jay Sheib, I prepared research briefs for the entire company on the infamous Duchess of Argyll sex scandal.
The contemporary opera, a 1995 debut by British composer Thomas Ades, tells the story of aristocracy clashing with lurid tabloid coverage of the Duchess’s promiscuous lifestyle. Its famous “blowjob aria” is a highlight.
Along with historical research, I was also tasked with hiring 25 men to perform nude onstage during the Duchess’s aria, so many of my actor friends got their first Equity credit due to my research!