Exploring the Acting Process: Katy Downing on Training, Methods, and Discovery

When people ask me about my “acting method,” I’m never quite sure how to answer. The truth is, I don’t think I’ve ever believed in following just one particular approach. Acting feels too individual, too alive, to be confined to a single technique. For me, it’s always been about exploring different angles until something clicks.

My process can feel messy at times—like I’m in a black box, pushing outward in the dark until some internal mechanism begins to spark inside me. Once that energy ignites, the work seems to carry its own momentum, and from there I can draw inspiration from anywhere.

One of the foundations I often return to is Stanislavski’s Method. I strive to bring that sense of truth into every character I play. At the same time, I’m currently enjoying studying with Joseph Reitman, who teaches the VOTE Method. His approach emphasizes exploring your greatest dreams alongside your deepest fears of failure, then making choices from that tension—and going for big transitions, especially in comedy. He is brilliant and inspiring.

I also adore working and learning from Gregory Berg, a brilliant teacher who previously taught theater at Yale. Gregory’s work pushes the imagination into unexpected places, encouraging out-of-the-box choices that stretch beyond traditional methods. His approach reminds me that acting is as much about invention and play as it is about discipline.

The longer I do this, the more I find joy in trying to connect the story to my own and stretching the choices imaginatively. I deeply admire actors who can lift words off the page and breathe life into them with complete authenticity. That, to me, is the ultimate goal: to take a script and transform it into something truthful, surprising, and deeply human.