Pssp-pssp-pssp-pssp! Heeeere— Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera! Ooh— and here she is!

Thank you for joining us— one of the first ‘Tidewater’ Cats to sit with us this season. (A Tidewater Cat is black and white…a Tidewater Cat has moonlit eyes…no seriously, a Tidewater Cat was a part of Cats at Tidewater Players in 2022 and ascended the Heaviside Layer to Cockpit in Court for 2024)— please tell us who you are, who you are playing in this incarnation of Cats and who you were last time as a ‘Tidewater Cat’?

Erin Acerno: I’m Erin Acerno. I’m playing Etcetera and last time I played Tantomile.

Oh my goodness, I think you’re one of like five Erin/Aarons in this show. Every Bambi Cats must have at least three to five Erin/Aarons…I think that’s a rule! Now, tell me a little bit about Etcetera.

Erin: Etcetera is a twin. And she’s very spunky. She really likes all the different activities that go on, so anytime there’s a big event— like when Rum Tum Tugger comes or Mister Mistoffelees with the magic— she’s very, very into it. She really likes all the adventure.

Awesome. How are you and Etcetera similar and different?

Erin: I think we’re similar because she is very nosy and likes to know what’s going on at all times. And I think that’s me a little bit. Just a little bit.

That is adorable; I would not peg you as nosy at all. How are you guys different or are you different?

Erin: That’s a good question. I don’t actually really know.

Well, but you’re not a twin.

Erin: That is true. I am not a twin. But I have three triplet-sisters who are younger than me. Multiples run in my family…but actually that’s another similarity if she’s a twin. But I’m not a twin myself, or a multiple. I’m a singleton. I’m the oldest.

Why did you want to come out and audition for Cats this time around?

Erin: I was in Cats last time, at Tidewater, and that was so much fun. It was one of the best theatrical experiences I’ve ever had. And I just adore Bambi. She is one of the greatest directors I have ever worked with. She’s just perfect in every way. I really didn’t like Cats going into the show last time? The show itself, I mean, I’d seen it on Broadway and I didn’t really resonate with it, until I got into the production and got to do it with Bambi, and she really made me fall in love with it. With all the symbolism she has in it, with all the detailed character work and their backstories, she’s very into that for every single person no matter their role.

This is your second— third— not your first Bambi show, obviously.

Erin: So I did Cats the first time, and this would be my second musical, Cats again, but I did Harriet’s Happiest Halloween for two years with her. So technically it’s my second musical but my fourth Bambi-experience.

What has this Bambi experience been like this time around?

Erin: It’s been amazing. Doing this on a bigger stage at a bigger venue is really awesome. Compared to the opera house stage (Opera House at the Havre de Grace Cultural Center, home of Tidewater Players), which was very little and we did a lot of audience work there, but the set here is incredible. It’s so much bigger than last time. We have more people than last time. The whole experience has just been bigger.

I love hearing this. Now you are a dancer, correct?

Erin: Yes. I’ve been dancing since I was two. So 17 years.

That’s incredible. How are we finding the “Bambiography” this time around?

Erin: It’s amazing. I’m getting to dance more than I did last time, which is awesome. I just love her choreography and her movement, it’s really, really special.

What does it mean to you this time around to be a Jellicle Cat?

Erin: I think Jellicle just means mystical and magical, I’m sure you’ve gotten that so many times already. But Jellicle is mystical, sort of like Mister Mistoffelees.

You still do not have cats in your household because— I think it was your mother? Who was allergic?

Erin: Correct. I’m also allergic too. So no cats. But we do have three dogs.

Wait— it’s Winnie…Jasmine…and…and… Mickey!

Erin: Wow! That’s right! Good memory. They’re all Disney-names.

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 Etcetera?

Erin: I would say because of the real meaning of the word ‘etcetera’ maybe a name that has multiple of the same letter? I don’t know. Something like Lilliana. That’s the first one I thought of.

That’s perfect. I like it. Lilliana. Now, what has been your big personal takeaway from this experience?

Erin: This show is so special. Bambi’s personal connection to it makes it so special. She says every rehearsal how this is her favorite show. Just watching her get so into it is really, really special and she is just the greatest. It reaffirms that I love Bambi a lot.

And I hear you’re getting to do a show with your mom again, and you’re having fun with that?

Erin: Yes! It’s very fun because she’s the one that exposed me to doing theatre so getting to share that with her for the second time— so wonderful. We knew from the second that Bambi announced that she was doing Cats for the second time, we knew we both had to come out and try to be a part of it again.

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?

Erin: Inspiring!

Cats plays July 19^th 2024 through August 4^th 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

Aria

Pouncival

Coricopat

Tantomile