Shandi Sturgill

Let me tell you a little about the play. It is set in 1895 at a theater in Western North Carolina. A renowned European psychic, Dimitri Raita, and his protégé, Esme, have come to the theater to perform a seance. As the night progresses Dimitri and Esme lose control over the spirits coming through. Ultimately the night ends in tragedy, and many of the attendees must come to terms with the secrets they’re harboring.

I played Catherine Mayberry. She is a novelist who has come to the seance to do research for her upcoming novel. To be completely honest I had a hard time playing Catherine at first. For some reason I couldn’t find my way into the character. Thankfully Destiny wrote and sent highly detailed backstories. After reading mine I understood Catherine and what drives her (I hate saying motivates it feels too theater school) more.

Seeing this show grow from an idea over the past few months added so much to the experience. The cast built the world of Parlour Tricks from the ground up. We were given free rein over our costumes, hair, and makeup. Which happen to be some of my favorite elements of theater and performing. Since this was a dinner theater piece and performed in what’s known as the venue’s Great Hall we didn’t build a full set. Rather we had tables with place settings for the audience and cast. At the center of the room there was a table where Dimitri and Esme would perform their seance. I loved how our directors used artwork that would be accurate to the 1890s. Destiny also painted posters for period accurate plays that would have been produced at the Davenport Theater. Little touches like this made the world of the show come alive.

Unfortunately our run has ended. We only had four performances, which went by crazy fast. But we sold out all four nights, so I won’t be surprised if we get up to more parlour tricks again soon.