Our Festival host, is the phenomenal Tessa Waters. Tessa is a multi award winning comedian, actor, director, writer and mentor with over a decade of experience in creating acclaimed comedy, theatre and short films which have played to sell-out crowds around Australia, New Zealand and the UK. 

Her previous work includes; WOMANz, which broke records at the 2014 Melbourne Fringe being the first show ever to win three awards in one night and was touted as one of the TOP 5 Hottest New Things in Comedy by the Sydney Morning Herald for her MICF 2015 season. OVER PROMISES (2016), which was nominated for Best International Show at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival 2017 and most recently FULLY SIK (2017) which won the Best Comedy Weekly Award at Adelaide Fringe 2017 and was filmed as an hour special for ABC’s Comedy Next Gen series 2. And VOLCANO which was nominated for Best Comedy in Perth. 

She is also one third of Fringe Wives Club whose debut show, Glittery Clittery; a conSensual party received the 2017 Moosehead development award and went on to Win Best Cabaret at Adelaide Fringe in 2018, be Nominated for Best Newcomer at the MICF 2017, and were picked by the Herald Sun for the 2018 Hottest 100 in Entertainment, one of seven comedians chosen alongside Lano and Woodley and Hannah Gadsby.

In 2017 she launched her own mentorship program (now in it's third year) working with young and emerging femme id-ing, non-binary and queer artists across Australia and the UK. Recent achievements of her mentorees include in 2019 Annie Louey being awarded the inaugural 'Stand Up! Grant' by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Andrews Labor Government (VIC) an initiative inspired by the talent and promise of Eurydice Dixon, supporting a new generation of strong funny women serious about comedy. As well as The Travelling Sisters winning Best Comedy at Melbourne Fringe Awards 2017.

VERB Festival 2021 appearances:
Witchy Party, Fri 5 Nov, 8:30pm.