Pageant of the Masters gives a glimpse of how its living pictures are created

The Pageant of the Masters held a two-hour annual media night Tuesday, offering members of the press a look at how organizers bring pictures to life inside the Irvine Bowl at the Laguna Festival of Arts grounds.

The night began with a word from pageant President Fred Sattler on the Festival of Arts facade remodel. Artists Ray Brown and Susan Hoehn gave demonstrations of their work, which will be exhibited in the festival this summer.

It will be Hoehn’s first year and the third year for Brown, who quickly carved a piece of Brazilian pau amarello, or yellowheart wood, with his electric lathe.

Director Diane Challis Davy, celebrating her 20th year with the pageant, welcomed guests and spoke about this year’s theme, “The Pursuit of Happiness.”

“It’s no accident, the desire for happiness,” she said. “It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence. The need to be happy unites us all.”

Attendees then got a chance to watch makeup artists paint the faces of the actors who stand in the “living pictures” tableaux. Pros and volunteers carefully applied makeup as they looked at Styrofoam heads and photo reproductions as references.

Dee Ketner worked on detail and shading on the face of Greta Harmon, who has a part in “Betsy Ross Presenting Flag.” Her younger sister Anne is also part of the summertime event.

“It’s often a family affair every year,” Ketner said. “We get grandparents, parents and their kids.”

Dmitri Reavis, who will portray King Kamehameha in the “Capitol Statuary Hall,” didn’t require much detail. His face was covered in solid black, his big toothy grin shining through. It was the same with Gary Tovey, whose face was thick with solid white paint.

Upstairs, stage hands worked to set up the tableau “Middle Age: Season of Strength,” while technical director Richard Hill kept an eye on things and answered questions. A crowd gathered as workers helped the actors — some of them children — take positions and freeze for a photo and Challis Davy described the action.

On the stage, guests watched and listened as narrator Richard Doyle wove a whimsical story for three tableaux. The pieces, “Middle Age: Season of Strength,” “Betsy Ross Presenting Flag” and “Capitol Statuary Hall,” all drew applause.