New York City

Lauren
Gessa

Host · Quizmaster · Comedian · Performer

Reigning Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster of the Year. Lauren hosts corporate team building for companies, in person or virtual, plus trivia nights, movie parties and bingo across NYC, and works a room like she was born in it. Part-time mermaid. Full-time Quizmistress of the Dark.

Book Lauren Corporate team building Instagram

Follow along on Instagram: @laurenjoygessa

Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster of the Year
Hosted events for Google, Amazon, Pfizer, CAA & more
Corporate team building · In person & virtual
Top Host 2026, Top 5 finalist
Based in New York City

Lauren Gessa on a boat, wearing cat-eye glasses, dark curly hair with violet streaks

Hosted events for

and more

Book her for

Five ways to put Lauren in front of your room, led by corporate team building. Every one is built on the same skill: she commands an audience and makes strangers feel like regulars.

Corporate Team Building

In person · NYC Virtual · Anywhere Not just trivia

Lauren hosts team building that people actually want to show up for. She runs the whole session live, in the room with your team or on screen for a remote one, and keeps the energy up from the first icebreaker to the final score. Trivia is one format on the menu, not the whole menu: she builds the event around your group, your goals and your time slot.

Trivia competitions, game show formats and bingo, hosted live
Custom rounds and questions built around your company and team
Icebreakers and team challenges that get quiet people playing
In person across New York City, or virtual for distributed teams
Small teams through company-wide events, holiday parties and offsites

Hosting & Emceeing

Quiz nights, game shows, bingo, movie parties, award nights, corporate and private events, live or virtual. This is the day job, and she holds the title to prove it.

Reigning Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster of the Year
Weekly Geeks Who Drink quizzes across NYC
Private event hosting through Geeks Who Drink
Past clients include Google, Amazon, Pfizer and CAA

Stand-Up Comedy

A direct New Yorker with a soft center. Her set digs into family lore: vintage home movies, a great-grandfather who hate-annotated his way through a copy of Mein Kampf, and life married to a Cuban bodybuilder. The comedy points at absurdity, never down.

Club sets and showcases
Trained with stand-up teacher Natasha Vaynblat

Horror & Themed Events

When the crypt doors open, Lauren hosts as the Quizmistress of the Dark, with camp, goth glamour, and a horror host's timing. Halloween is her high season, but she haunts year-round.

Horror movie nights and spooky season parties
Themed trivia and costume events

Performance & Character Work

A performer first: commanding a room is the core of everything Lauren does. Years of live hosting, hosting in character as the Quizmistress of the Dark, and stage work bring presence and timing to any role or event.

Character hosting and in-persona appearances
Stage performance and live events

After dark, she is the Quizmistress of the Dark

Lauren's horror host persona: Elvira-grade camp with a quizmaster's brain. She emcees Jeopardy! Bar League in full Quizmistress mode, crypt doors open, brains out, and brings the same act to horror events, movie parties and Halloween bookings across the city.

“I'm a no-nonsense New Yorker. I'm kind, but I tell it like it is. I'm quick-witted, curious and welcoming, with a spooky streak that's earned me the nickname ‘Quizmistress of the Dark.’”

Lauren

Lauren, in person

The host bookers actually get, plus the hardware behind the title.

Lauren Gessa smiling, wearing black cat-eye glasses and a bat necklace, her long dark hair lit violet — **The portrait.** Cat-eye glasses, bat necklace, and the smile that runs the room. This is Lauren as her regulars know her.

Gold trophy engraved with the words Lauren Gessa, Quizmaster Of The Year 2025 — **The credential, in gold.** Her Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster of the Year 2025 trophy, engraved with her name.

Catch her live

The standing gigs. Walk in, grab a seat, and see the title defended in person.

Wednesdays · 7:30 PM

Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz

The Press Room @ Alamo Drafthouse
28 Liberty St, Lower Manhattan, New York, NY

Lauren's midweek Geeks Who Drink pub quiz. Same room, same Quizmaster of the Year energy. Walk in, grab a seat, and bring a team.

Sundays · 6 PM

Jeopardy! Bar League

The Press Room @ Alamo Drafthouse
28 Liberty St, Lower Manhattan, New York, NY

Lauren hosts as Quizmistress of the Dark, and plays for keeps. Her team ESP finished 10th nationally in October 2026.

Weekly · Across NYC

Geeks Who Drink Pub Quizzes

Bars and venues across New York City, plus private parties and virtual events. The night two of her regulars got married at her quiz and made her their official witness tells you what kind of room she runs.

“My favorite part of hosting is creating connection and bringing a little joy to the world. Joy is my middle name, after all.”

Lauren Joy Gessa

Warm up your brain

A four question taste of quiz night. Lauren's regulars face eight rounds of this. No pressure.

Question 1 of 4

Score: 0

Book Lauren

Lauren books paid hosting, comedy and performance engagements in New York City and beyond: corporate team building, in person or virtual, trivia and game show hosting, stand-up sets, horror and themed events, private parties, and live performance or character work.

Booking team building for your company? Tell her your team size, whether it's in person or virtual, and your date, and she'll shape the format around your group. Trivia is available, and so are game shows, bingo and custom competitions.

Fill in the inquiry and copy it, then send it to her on Instagram at @laurenjoygessa, where she takes booking messages. Include your date and budget range and she'll come back with availability.

Booking a trivia night for a venue or company party? She also hosts private events through Geeks Who Drink, the route behind past events for clients including Google, Amazon, Pfizer, CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and more.

Instagram

Quiz nights, Quizmistress looks, and Top Host updates, all on her feed. The fastest way to reach her is a DM there.

@laurenjoygessa on Instagram

LaurenGessa