Then he gave one flash of his glass-green eyes and the signal went “ALL CLEAR!” And as the next in the series of ‘RttJB’— it’s Skimbleshanks— he’s here!

Thank you for joining us! Tell us who you are? And we know you’re playing The Railway Cat!

Ethan Howard: I’m Ethan Howard and I do play Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat.

Tell me about Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat.

Ethan: I think he’s one of the younger characters in the cast, he’s got a lot of youthful energy and exuberance. He bounces around all the time. He’s very curious— actually inquisitive is probably a better word for it. He’s always checking to make sure that he’s doing the right thing.

How are you and Skimbleshanks similar and how are you two different?

Ethan: Well he’s very bouncy. My best friend once told me that I have springs in my knees. I bounce around a lot. I chose to portray him as very— not insecure but very self-conscious, which leads to him always double-checking to make sure that he’s doing the right thing. And I suppose we’re different because…he’s a cat. I’m not. And also, his tendency and need to check that he’s always doing the right thing is more anxious and intense than mine.

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

Ethan: I actually know Andrew Worthington and he was actually in the previous production of Cats.

Ah, yes, Andrew. He played Munkustrap, if memory serves me here, at Tidewater in 2022.

Ethan: Yes he did! And he was very encouraging to me, really wanting me to go out and audition for it when I had mentioned to him that I was slightly interested. I actually love Cats as a musical. I’ve seen it performed live twice before. Once I heard it was happening here, I figured I would go out and try, I didn’t think I would get in. But I did!

This is your first time working with Bambi? What has that been like?

Ethan: Yes it is. It’s been very different to some previous directors I’ve worked with but I really like the experience. Especially given the heavy dance-nature of the show. It’s also been very developmental for my dance skills because I feel like I am not a dancer by any means. I feel like it’s been very helpful to be in such a dance-heavy show with a very dance-experienced choreographer and director who has so much passion for this work in particular.

What does it mean to you to be a Jellicle Cat?

Ethan: I think it’s a community. The Jellicle Cats are a big community. They’re all very interconnected and that’s shown, specifically in our production, as we all move in a very synchronized fashion. We are all very together; our personalities bounce off one another a lot in this production and that’s part of this big, Jellicle community.

Do you have cats at home?

Ethan: I have two. My cats are named Finn and Chewie, based off of Star Wars. Finn came with his name and Chewie we named to fit the theme. Finn, I’m not entirely sure which of the cats here he’s most like, but Chewie is very much a Rum Tum Tugger. He’s very much on the wrong side of every door and wants to be admired by everyone. Finn is an interesting case but maybe he’s closest to Skimbleshanks so I’ve been basing some of my work off of him. And they’re about eight years old. Finn is solid white, domestic short hair. And Chewie is a mix, definitely got some Maine Coon in him, but he’s solid gray.

Those cats sound amazing. I love cats. And also Cats. But I have six cats at home. Yay cats. Now 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 Skimbleshanks.

Ethan: I think he’s actually given a human name in the show— Augustus. And obviously his Jellicle name is Skimbleshanks. And obviously I can’t tell you his third name.

Not even for a bag of catnip?

Ethan: Hmm. Tempting. But no.

Very good. What has been your big personal takeaway from this experience so far?

Ethan: It’s opened my eyes to how wide Baltimore theatre, and theatre in general, is. I know I mentioned how very educational it’s been for my dance development. I’ve been very lucky to be welcomed into the community, even as much as I’ve been absent from some of these earlier rehearsals. (Ethan was cross-cast with Cockpit in Court’s Junior Court Jesters in their production of Newsies in the principal role of Jack Kelly; the TheatreBloom Review for that can be found here.)

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?

Ethan: Educational.

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

Etcetera

Griddlebone