Shut Up Gail - Margot Escott | Ep 10

🎧 SHUT UP GAIL – Episode 11 Play Is Not Optional (with Margo Escott)

Play is not a reward.
It's not a break.
It's not something you "get back to" when life calms down.

According to Margo Escott, play is essential — and she's been proving it since the 1970s.

In this Season 2 premiere of Shut Up Gail, Gail sits down with Margo Escott: psychotherapist, New Games referee, improv teacher, and lifelong champion of joy. What unfolds is a grounded, hilarious, deeply human conversation about laughter, resilience, Parkinson's, anxiety, failure, and why yelling "TA‑DA!" at your mistakes might actually change your life.

🧠 What We Talk About

• Why play isn't optional, for kids or adults

• How improv became a powerful therapeutic tool

• Using play with people living with Parkinson's (and their care partners)

• Why CBT + mindfulness + improv is a secret weapon for anxiety

• The radical idea that there are no mistakes

• Pain vs. suffering — and how presence loosens suffering's grip

• Gibberish dinnertime (yes, really)

💬 Best Lines

"There are no mistakes. Everything you do is meant to happen."
"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
"Play helps us get out of our heads — and back into being human."

🎭 The Yelling (Mandatory)

Margo delivers not one, not two, but multiple heartfelt, joyful, and slightly mischievous renditions of:

"Shut up, Gail."
Because professionals commit to the bit.

💥 Why This Episode Matters

This isn't just an interview — it's permission.
Permission to play.
Permission to fail loudly.
Permission to laugh in the middle of hard things.

And permission to tell Gail to shut up.

If you want to yell at Gail, please email us at [e-mail]

"The BIT Spotlight" is part of The BIT Comedy Network.
Visit www.BITComedyNetwork.com to listen to our other podcasts or apply to join the ensemble.

CAST
Gail: Hill Kane
Herself: Margot Escott

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

Production Assistance, Audio Production, & Graphic Art by Raising Kane Media + Marketing.

Hosting Platform: Libsyn.com

"The BIT," "The BIT Comedy Network," "Billy Merritt's Improv Spotlight," and "Shut Up Gail" are Trademarks owned by Billy Merritt.

©2025-2026 Billy Merritt - All Rights Reserved
Send inquiries + notices + requests: [e-mail]