Meow.

Or— ♫Meoooow. That seems appropriate for this cat. No. It’s not Griz.

Thank you for joining us! Would you tell us your name and who you’re playing in this production of Cats?

Hanna Lyons: My name is Hanna Lyons and I play the kitten Aria.

Tell me a little bit about Aria.

Hanna: Aria to me is an anxious kitten.

Okay. She’s an anxious kitten. So how are you and Aria similar or maybe different?

Hanna: I think we’re different. I hope I’m not anxious. I think I try to play it like she grows to be more open towards the end, that as she grows through the show she understands more things towards the end. Especially because she’s a kitten, I feel like she hasn’t ever been through the Jellicle Ball before? So I feel like she’s not really sure what’s happening at all.

Why did you want to come out and audition to be a part of Cats?

Hanna: Cats has always been one of my favorite musicals of all time. I think I auditioned once before…I’m not sure where, but every time I see that Cats is having auditions, I try to make sure I can go out and audition because the show is just so special to me and this time it worked out!

That’s really lovely. Are you a dancer?

Hanna: I am. I’ve been dancing pretty much my whole life. I’ve taken a couple of little breaks but for the most part its been my whole life.

That’s fantastic. What does it mean to you to be a Jellicle Cat?

Hanna: I’m not sure. I think I’m still figuring that one out, kind of like my kitten Aria.

That’s okay! There are no wrong answers here. Do you have cats at home?

Hanna: I do. I have a lot of cats.

Define a lot. Like more than me? Because I’ve got six.

Hanna: I run a cat rescue.

Yeah I think sounds like more than me.

Hanna: We have…I want to say at least 12.

Now of those twelve, are any of them like your permanent, keep-in-house, personal cats?

Hanna: The twelve that I mentioned are our personal cats. We have a whole separate room for rescue-fosters that come through.

That is amazing. You must send me a picture of at least one of your dozen. And speaking of cats… we know that cats have three names. The name that the humans call them or their daily use name, their more dignified name, and their third, secret name that we can never know. What do you think the humans are calling Aria?

Hanna: Again, I think I’m still figuring that one out. Same with the secret name. People have started creating and discovering their cats’ secret names. I’m still thinking about it. I think Aria is such a young kitten maybe the humans haven’t found her yet.

Ooh. I like that take. What has been your big personal takeaway from this experience so far?

Hanna: It’s just been very special to me in general, not only because it’s a very important show to me but because I’ve made so many new friends doing this show. I genuinely enjoy the rehearsal process with this group. It’s genuinely been so fun and not stressful. Sometimes theatre experiences can be very stressful and this has probably been the least stressful theatre production that I have ever been a part of.

And this is your first time working with Bambi, yes?

Hanna: Yes and she’s been amazing!

If you had to sum up your experience here at Cockpit in Court with Bambi and Cats using just one word, which word would you use?

Hanna: Perfection!

Cats plays July 19^th 2024 through August 3^rd 2024 in the F. Scott Black Theatre of The Robert and Eleanor Romadka College Center at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard, Essex MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2787 or purchase them online.

Follow along in the “Return to the Jellicle Ball” Series here:

Sillabub

Carbucketty

Plato

Bill Bailey

Electra

Saffron