Screen and stage star Valarie Pettiford will now have experience dealing with vampires and psychics. Pettiford has joined the cast of HBO’s top-rated Sunday night drama, “True Blood,” in a recurring role for their sixth and final season. She will make her big appearance in a two-episode arc starting in the seventh episode, “World Without End,” which is scheduled to air on July 28, 2013.

“Working on this show has been a delicious experience,” says Pettiford. “It has been an absolute joy to work with a cast of this caliber. Everyone has been so lovely – they say it starts at the top, and on True Blood, it really does.”

Pettiford is a Fosse-trained dancer who has worked on the Broadway stage, independent short films and popular TV shows. Pettiford’s long list of accolades includes a Tony Award nomination, NAACP Awards nominations and Best Actress honors for the festival short ‘The Response.’ Pettiford’s resume also includes national tours (“Dancin’,” “Show Boat”), hit sitcoms (“Half and Half,” “House of Payne”) and big-budget studio films (“Stomp the Yard,” “Jumping the Broom”). Her second album, Velvet Sky, a collection of original lullabies, was released last fall. Also, she has been sanctioned by the Fosse/Verdon estate to reconstruct the maestro’s choreography for a new generation of dancers in master classes in New York City. She is teaching with fellow Fosse-alum Lloyd Culbreath.

“True Blood” airs Sunday nights at 9/8c on HBO.