Student Blog: A look into the Paranormal Performers Leading 'Paranormal Activity'

Places aren’t haunted… People are. Last month, “Paranormal Activity: Live on Stage” made its North American premier at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. “Paranormal Activity: Live on Stage” has a similar storyline as the first film, Paranormal Activity (2007), however, the stage play follows a completely different story than the film. On October 28, I was fortunate enough to sit down on Zoom with Cher Álvarez and Patrick Heusinger, the two leading performers of the show to chat about their careers and being a part of this amazing franchise in a new way.

Cher Álvarez, who plays Lou, grew up in Colorado and earned her BFA in Musical Theatre from the Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, Missouri. She first found her passion for the arts in her junior year of high school when she played a drug addict in “Go Ask Alice”. This experience helped Cher see the powerful effect of performance on an audience. Cher also talked about her experiences at different theatres helped her learn what to do and not to do in a room. Patrick Heusinger, who plays James, grew up in Florida and attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Patrick is also a graduate of Julliard. He talked about how he moved from Florida to New York at the young age of 18. Similar to Cher, Patrick found his passion for the arts his junior year of high school in a play called “Orphans”.

With “Paranormal Activity” being such a popular franchise, Patrick and Cher both talked about their familiarity with the franchise. Cher mentioned that she hadn’t seen the film in a long time prior to being a part of this play. Ironically, Cher said that she isn’t a fan of horror. She also talked about how she wasn’t too big of a fan of the movie and said that she enjoys the stage play better. This is mainly because the show focuses on a couple, and their love for each other… As well as their secrets. For Patrick, he had seen the third Paranormal film before watching the first two. After reading the script, and getting casted in the show, he soon realized that this is a new theatre-specific adaptation. Luckily for fans of the films, the play still has a similar feel to the found footage themes that everyone loves!

As any and all theatre people know, auditions can look different for everyone. For Patrick, he was a part of the London premier in 2024 in the same role. Patrick actually went to school with Levi Holloway (Writer), and mentioned how that may have helped him in the process. Patrick received a message from Levi when the show was in the casting phase for the London production and were having some trouble finding someone to play James. After Levi sent Patrick the script, Patrick found the script to be extraordinary and sent in an audition tape within 48 hours of receiving the information. For Cher, she sent in her audition tape not expecting too much. She ended up getting a callback for the role of Lou. Once she was offered the role, she was excited since this is her first tour. When she found out that she would be working alongside Patrick, she got more excited since she was a big fan of his work.

With this being a horror play, both performers talked about their enjoyment of hearing the audience's reactions throughout the play. For Patrick, he doesn’t really focus on hiding the upcoming scares. He is more deeply in the story and focuses on the character's motivations. He specifically brings up a moment in scene 2 (which I will not talk about due to spoilers) and how he focuses on his character's emotions. Patrick has had more time to figure out how to be committed to the story since he has been with the show since London. Cher mentioned how Patrick gave her some pointers on audience reactions. She did mention that she still finds it hard not to react/laugh in some moments when the audience is so involved in the story.

Even though the Halloween season has come to an end, this thrilling show is just beginning! If you’re a fan of anything horror, or just a fan of amazing theatre, then you have three more chances to see this phenomenal play on tour. If you have the opportunity to see “Paranormal Activity: Live on Stage” near you, I highly recommend taking it! Just make sure you sleep with the lights on after the show! You can watch the full interview below!

Paranormal Activity is sweeping theaters around the US through March 2026. 

Spread the horror… If you dare.

Center Theatre Group

Los Angeles, CA

November 13 - December 7, 2025

https://www.centertheatregroup.org/shows-tickets/ahmanson/2025-26/paranormal-activity/

Shakespeare Theatre Company

Washington, DC

January 28 - February 7, 2026

https://shakespearetheatre.org/index.php/events/paranormal-activity-25-26

American Conservatory Theatre

San Francisco, CA

February 19 - March 15, 2026

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