Kate Botello

Kate comes to Northern Michigan via New York City, where she was a freelance actor, singer and playwright, appearing Off-Broadway as Judy Garland in the underground hit, Christmas with the Crawfords. She wrote and starred in several Judy Garland-themed productions, including Judy’s Christmas Garland and Judy Garland and Uninvited Company -- for which she was nominated for a Nightlife Award and won a Backstage Bistro award.

Before her time in New York, Kate was one of the founding on-air personalities for ZDTV, a national television network (later to become TechTV). There, she hosted "The Screen Savers," a live daily call-in show co-starring tech guru Leo Laporte, as well as "Extended Play," a show about videogames and the gaming industry with cohost Adam Sessler. She also puppeteered and provided the voice for Tilde, the network’s "virtual host" - work for which she won an Emmy Award.

Kate Botello has lived in Traverse City, Michigan since 2005, and is delighted by the huge amount of talent and art available to people in our area. She directed and starred in many productions for the Old Town Playhouse and Young Company, and led the OTP's Summer Performing Arts Camp for four years. Kate has even had a chance to make a few dreams come true, including hosting live "Sing-a-Long" events at the State Theatre, narrating stories with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and serving as the official "Word Pronouncer" for the Traverse City County and Regional Spelling Bees. 

Kate brings a lifetime love of classical music to IPR, and she is thrilled by discoveries of beautiful pieces, new and old, to share with you.