i am kate
Kate Banford is
a comedy writer, creative producer and director based in Los Angeles. She’s directed video for clients like Hasbro, Nick Jr and Wax Nine Records with her work featured in Rolling Stone, Vulture, NPR, and more. The Fader called her music video debut for Sadie Dupuis - of acclaimed indie rock band Speedy Ortiz - “hilariously fucked up.”
Banford is the founding Artist Director of the non-profit comedy theater, The Elysian, “a savvy new alternative space” (New York Times) with “experimental, performer-driven programming” and a “try-anything-once ethos” (LA Times). She was Executive and Artistic Director of The Elysian as well as co-founder of the highly praised Good Good Comedy Theater in Philadelphia. Kate has curated live shows for Netflix Is A Joke Fest, showcases for Comedy Central’s Clusterfest, WFMU and IFC’s Comedy Crib.
In 2019, Kate was named a Philadelphian “Shaking Up the City” by Philadelphia Magazine and “Who’s Next in the Arts” by BillyPenn and the Knight Foundation. She has been profiled for PBS’s Movers & Makers, the LA Times, Junior High Magazine among others.
what’s the real story? she started making comedy at age 19 with her friends at the university of delaware (joe, beau and that whole crew). she then went on to become a line producer for commercial projects. on a whim, she started a festival with a buddy and it grew to become a theater that became a hub for the east coast experimental comedy scene. the pandemic hit and she engulfed herself in writing projects but when the world opened back up, she began prodcuing live shows in los angeles - independently at first until she founded The Elysian theater with the backing of a pre-existing non-profit company. that non-profit company absolutely slayed her (and the executive director before her) and now she’s back engulfed in writing projects.
currently kate is writing her first book on producing a live comedy show, writing creative projects and will be producing a slew of live comedy shows with her friends. will she make another theater? will she start another festival? perhaps. but for now, the writing and creative producing feeds her soul.
kate teaches classes on producing a live comedy show, information available here.
she has taught comedy workshops with University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware, the Philadelphia Library, the public school district of Philadelphia.
real kate: green team, comedy in college, death, moving, many girlfriends of my father,
email me at
kate.banford [at] gmail.com