Jess Budin (they/she) is a comedy writer/producer and sketch performer based in Melbourne, Australia. They attained their Bachelors degree at RMIT University, during which they crewed and wrote for RMITV/Channel 31 television productions, including Offbeat, The Leak and Mainland Tonight.
After graduating in 2016, Jess worked in a script and general crew capacity on a number of student and independent productions, including two award winning short films in the Melbourne 48 Hour Film Project in 2017 and 2019.
Jess also participated in the first Pitch iView contest at Melbourne WebFest, and Round One of VicScreen’s Originate program in 2021. Jess also completed the prestigious Master of Screenwriting program at the Victorian College of the Arts, from which they graduated in 2024.
In 2023, they were awarded the Women in Comedy scholarship to study sketch comedy at The Improv Conspiracy. It gave them the tools to join the theatre’s house sketch team and write and perform in the historic 70th anniversary Law Revue at the Comedy Republic in 2023.
Jess has since written and performed regularly with The Improv Conspiracy. In March 2025, they wrote, produced and starred in their first Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Girt By Sea at The Butterfly Club, which received coverage from JOY 94.9, Triple RRR and warm reviews from Hugging Comedians, Praise Dionysus! and audiences alike!
Most recently, Jess was elected as the Secretary of the Board of Women in Film and Television Victoria (WIFT VIC) and has joined VicScreen’s Key Talent Placement Register, continuing to seek out their next big comedy opportunity in TV, online and theatre.
