Shut Up Gail - Ep 8 - Thea Marie Thorkildsen

The BIT Spotlight

🎙️ SHUT UP GAIL – Ep. 7: "Cats, Clapbacks, and Contrasts" with Thea Marie Thorkildsen

This is the fourth installment of the Women of BIT.

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This month on Bit Behind the Scenes (a.k.a. SHUT UP GAIL), Gail gets philosophical, improv-sical, and mildly feline-ical with Norwegian multi-hyphenate Thea Marie Thorkildsen—a political scientist turned stand-up comic, improv rebel, and self-declared curator of "Cat of the Day" (even though it's weekly).

🧠 In This Episode:

• 🏛️ How nine years of political science, psychology, and history shape Thea's comedic instincts

• 🎭 Why breaking the "Yes, and" rule might make you a better improviser

• 🐱 What neighborhood cats really think of Thea's stand-up (spoiler: it's "meow")

• 👏 The story behind her improv group The Clap (yes, that's what it's called, and no, not for that reason)

• 🎤 Performing solo at Oslo Improv Festival and 121 times at Edinburgh Fringe (!)

⚡ Rapid-Fire Round Includes:

• Regression analysis on improv + stand-up combos

• UCB vs. Second City for first dates

• National Cat Day vs. Talk Like a Pirate Day (cat supremacy confirmed)

• Spanish-language improv show titles and fringe audience chaos

💬 Quotable Moments:

"Improv taught me you can break the rules—if you know the rules." "My cat critics would just say… 'meow.'" "Gail, you are weird and cool, so shut up, please?"

🇳🇴 Bonus Bits:

• Thea's guide to navigating Norway with just a "plastic card"

• Gail's journey into Duolingo Norwegian

• A teaser for the gang's upcoming Norway Improv Festival takeover

Be sure to come back on the 8th of each month for a new "snack-sized" episode of SHUT UP GAIL.

If YOU want to yell at Gail, please email us at [email protected]

"The BIT Spotlight" is part of The BIT Comedy Network.

Please visit www.BITComedyNetwork.com and check out our other podcasts or to apply to the ensemble. CAST Gail: Hill Kane Herself: Thea Marie Thorkildsen MUSIC: "Zombie Clambake" performed by Little Kahunas | Produced by Peter Miller © (RIP buddy :()

"The BIT Spotlight" and "Shut Up Gail" are part of The BIT Comedy Network.

Host, Producer, Director, Editor, Art, Co-Creator: Hill Kane Show Runner, Co-Creator: Billy Merritt Co-Creator: Paul Vato

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"The BIT," "The BIT Comedy Network," and "Shut Up Gail" are Trademarks owned by Billy Merritt. ©2025 Billy Merritt - All Rights Reserved Send inquiries + notices + requests: [email protected]