Pageant of the Masters volunteers eager to join the show

Within a fairly short time span, Elvira Krueger got a divorce, lost her job and suffered an injury.

The pain, physical and emotional, was a turning point for Krueger, who needed a new focus.

So the woman who had dreamed of working in the arts enrolled in makeup artist classes at Cypress College and learned how to cast masks.

From there, she signed up to be a volunteer at the Pageant of the Masters, where she painted people’s faces to look exactly like figures in famous art for the annual re-creation of living pictures.

She loved her involvement and always made sure she had enough money for gasoline to commute from her Buena Park home to the Festival of Arts grounds in Laguna Beach, where the pageant is held in the Irvine Bowl.

It’s also the reason Krueger is back for her 17th year, ready to join hundreds of volunteers with the pageant’s latest production, “Partners,” which will be staged from July 7 to Aug. 31.

“This place got me to endure what happened,” Krueger said Jan. 8 during the Pageant of the Masters casting call. “It gave me sanity and something to look forward to, knowing I was coming to a safe place where people were nonjudgmental.

“It’s like a family that you always have. It’s like therapy.”

Krueger joined about 1,300 hopefuls from Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties at the casting call, which ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Irvine Bowl.

“We’re seeing a lot of new faces,” said pageant director Diane Challis Davy, who last year was recognized for her 35 years of contributions to the pageant show.

In November, Challis Davy announced the “Partners” theme, which will explore powerful twosomes including lovers, comrades and allies.

The tableaux vivantes will showcase works ranging from an 1871 oil painting of Adam and Eve, posters of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire and a 1930 bronze statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Last year’s theme, “The Pursuit of Happiness,” was inspired by sources of happiness, both ancient and modern. The art included works by Norman Rockwell, Currier and Ives and Winslow Homer.

Last Friday evening, participants huddled at tables, filled out paperwork and waited in line to be tape-measured and photographed. The creative team stores the body dimensions and photographs in a database and selects people for each tableau — from works by Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne to a marble tomb of Archduchess Maria — based on a person’s height and resemblance to the subject.

People of all sizes and ages are needed to be cast members, but men especially are in short supply in the casting pool, Challis Davy said. The only ability required is being able to stand still for 90 seconds.

About 400 to 450 people will receive callbacks for an additional assessment, she said. Volunteers will also be needed to help with makeup, wardrobe and refreshments. All had to take part in the casting call process.

University High School student Jack Wheeler said he was interested in being in the show after his sister learned of the casting call in an advertisement.

“It seems interesting to me,” said Jack, 15. “I’ve seen it before and I’d like to be in it.”

Wardrobe manager Cianna Calandrino has measured volunteers for seven years. She said she enjoys helping because she likes meeting new people.

And Nancy Remley of Balboa Island said she and her husband have returned for 35 years to take measurements because they like to get involved with the art show.

Tickets for the 2016 pageant are on sale now. The summer’s production will feature artworks from France, Spain and Italy and incorporate video and live-action sequences along with a behind-the-scenes look at how tableaux are created. During the preview, a segment will focus on how volunteers are selected for the show.

Challis Davy, who hasn’t appeared in the pageant since 1976, said she enjoys sitting in the director’s booth during performances to watch the audience’s reaction to the 90 minutes of pictures being re-created.

She hopes the production will prompt guests to see the original works in person.

“I hope that they might decide to go to an art museum and see the masterpieces,” Challis Davy said. “I’m just really proud of this show.”

For more information, call (800) 487-3378 or visit foapom.com.