Pageant of the Masters casting call gives fans a sneak peek, chance to volunteer
A stage production put on before a few thousand people every night in the summer has long captured the hearts of Laguna Beach and surrounding communities.
The Pageant of the Masters, a name as grand as the spectacle itself, has captivated audiences with its ability to replicate celebrated works of art in the form of the living picture.
Scores of admirers have pictured themselves contributing to the show — even being in it.
While there are no guarantees of landing a part in the cast, the surest way to get involved is to volunteer. The annual casting call took place over three days the first weekend of January, a meeting that has marked the beginning for many a proud participant in the Pageant.
Pageant director Diane Challis Davy said there were 724 attendees who filled out cards to volunteer for the upcoming show, which will be “À La Mode: The Art of Fashion.”
Beyond the possibility of bolstering their modeling career in a tableaux vivant, as long as the volunteers can stand still for 90 seconds, other offerings included the headdress, make-up and wardrobe departments, as well as backstage roles.
For those who missed the casting call, the window to volunteer has not passed. Challis Davy said those interested can still stop by to get measured and photographed. To make an appointment, call the casting office at (949) 494-3663.
“I always love the casting call,” Challis Davy said. “It is so much fun, to me, because it draws in people who have seen the show, but they’ve never been backstage. Yes, they’re signing up and volunteering and getting measured and photographed, but they’re also getting a sneak peek downstairs in all the dressing rooms, they look at our working storyboard, they get to be up on stage to have some refreshments and look around and see some of our sets.
“I had a couple people who were new who told me, ‘Everyone around here is so nice. You people are just so nice,’ and I felt very proud of that because it just shows that, from the very first when a volunteer shows up, we welcome them, and we demonstrate that their summer is going to be fun. It won’t seem like a chore.”
It was a busy afternoon on the Festival of Arts grounds last Sunday, as hopeful volunteers lined up to get measured from head to toe. While some of the measurements apply to costuming, casting director Nancy Martin revealed the most important measurements to her.
“The most important measurement to me is the height, and the head size needs to be pretty close because the headpiece needs to be shared, and then shoe size,” said Martin, who is in her 40th year as casting director. “Those are the sizes I look at most closely when I’m picking people.”
Finding two people similar in measurement is essential because there are two casts, meaning that they will have to share a costume and a headpiece.
Volunteers of all sizes are needed, and that often includes young children.
“We do find the audience always enjoys watching the kids move, but we have to put a stop to it,” Martin chuckled. “We have come to the point where we even bribe them not to move. Sometimes, when the audience laughs, they get to like it, so then they do it on purpose.”
Asked what a bribe might look like, Martin said that little toys have done the trick, at times.
Twin sisters Teagan and Molly Mahoney, who are in fourth grade at El Morro Elementary in Laguna Beach, are both hoping to be recast in the show after appearing as substitutes last year.
“I was kind of shivering a little bit,” Molly recalled of last summer’s appearance. “I don’t know why, though. … When I went out there, you just have to stand there, and I really want to see the audience this time.”
The casting call can be a fun time for parents, too, who get an opportunity to see how much their kids have grown.
“I was like, ‘How tall are you?’” said Laura Sewell, the mother of Teagan and Molly. “They’re twins, and [Teagan] is 4 inches taller, so that’s always kind of interesting to see.”
While the Mahoney twins can only guess what piece they might be considered for, longtime volunteer Richard Cassiere is quite certain that he will be back in “The Last Supper.” The traditional finale of the Pageant, Cassiere, who is volunteering for a 42nd season, first appeared in it in 1974 as St. James the Lesser.
Cassiere said the volunteers in “The Last Supper” have gone unchanged for a decade, referring to the Pageant as a “special summer community.” With his time in service, Cassiere has gained an appreciation for the work that goes on backstage.
“You’d be surprised how skilled the stage manager and the people behind the scenes, how they move all those large props and stuff, how smoothly they move it,” Cassiere said. “One of the most amazing things that always has shocked me is you have a stage crew of so many people that have drilled over and over again to move all these props in a certain order in a very small, small space. They’ve got to do it quickly. They’ve got to set up quickly or the audience will get bored.”
Should others decide to throw their hat in the ring for a part, there is a question that might give some pause. Some roles call on a volunteer to pose in the nude.
“With my gut, I’m a chunky monkey, dude,” Cassiere said with a laugh. “... Frankly, I’m not hung up with nudity at all, but with my body in front of an audience of 3,000 people, I don’t want to get them sick.”
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