Jellicles Can And Jellicles Do: Meet Exotica

Practical cats. Dramatical cats. Pragmatical cats. Fanatical cats. Purr? Mrow.

Thank you for giving us a moment of your time! If you could tell us who you are and who you play, that would be lovely.

Vera Roell in the 2016 production of Cats.

Vera Roell: My name is Vera Roell and I play Exotica.

Tell me a little bit about Exotica.

Vera: The thing with Exotica is that she’s one of the more ensemble cats. It gives me a lot of freedom to basically mold her however I want. That being said, I have chosen to sort of be a sister character to Cassandra. A sister or a friend. So I have that same sort of “Cassandra-ness” but I’m a little bit less full-out with it.

Are you finding that you, Vera, are personally relating to these characteristics that you’ve chosen for Exotica?

Vera: It makes sense that I would put a part of myself into the character. I do tend to be a little bit more socially reserved in groups and I do tend to place myself on the outside of scenes, which really works very well for this character.

Why did you want to be a part of Cats?

Vera: I was a part of Cats when Bambi did this show six years ago. I was Cassandra then. I did not sing any lines though; I was purely ensemble. Cats stands as the one show where if I could do it all again, I would in a heartbeat. So when I heard that Bambi was doing this again, I knew that was my wish answered.

Do you have cats?

Vera: I do; I have two at home. I have a very old, elderly short-haired black cat named Spanky. And then I have a calico cat named Pastel.

And do Spanky and Pastel get along?

Vera: Oh absolutely not. They get separate pieces of the house.

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

Vera: It means being part of a family and being part of a ‘found’ family. I’m a sucker for that dynamic. All of these cats live their different walks of life throughout the year. But once a year they all come together and they’re family. They form a tribe and it becomes this place where they all belong.

We learn that all cats have three names. Exotica is your cat’s ‘more dignified name’ and while we can never know the ‘secret name’ that she calls herself, what do you think her ‘family daily use’ name is? What are the humans calling her every day?

Vera: I was thinking about this earlier today. I’m kind of thinking that Exotica is more of a personified name for herself. She adapts this more exotic-sounding name so that she can have some flare in her life. But maybe her family name is like Sarah, Emily, or even Pastel.

What’s been your big personal takeaway from this experience with Cats?

Vera: It’s of course incredible to be part of a show like this. We do really become family over time. Frankly I’m just happy to be here.

If you had to sum up the Cats experience in just one word?

Vera: I would use the word that I would use to describe any show that Bambi has touched and that would be magic.

Cats plays September 16^th 2022 through September 25^th 2022 with Tidewater Players, in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.

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Meet Jellylorum

Meet Coricopat

Meet Tantomile

Meet Griddlebone/Sillabub

Meet Cassandra

Meet Euterpeco

Meet Victoria

Meet Munkustrap

Meet Demeter

Meet Alonzo