Lights and shadows, costumes and makeup: Pageant of the Masters means getting it exactly right

Whether it be makeup that creates a shadow under the eye, or the amount of light shining on a set, staff and volunteers of the Pageant of the Masters honed in on the details during a rehearsal Thursday night.

It’s three weeks from opening night of the famed Laguna Beach show that features re-creations of classical and contemporary works of art, with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original art pieces.

The title of this year’s show is “The Grand Tour,” an ode to the European tradition during the 17th and 18th centuries of crossing continents to look for art masterpieces.

“We’ve never really had a storyline like this, never created characters for the show,” Pageant director Diane Challis Davy said. “We have many beautiful landscape paintings from the 18th century. We’re going to project images to show how everyone looked in the 18th century. It’s a real insight to the past.”

The narration consists of a man writing letters from various destinations to his father at home in England.

Since February, Pageant staff have held weekly rehearsals, typically going through two or three scenes each night.

On Thursday, Connor Fink, 15, wearing boots, pants and a T-shirt, sat on a stool while makeup artist Maryam Kavousi applied foundation to his face for his role as the man riding a horse in artist Harry Jackson’s “Pony Express.”

Kavousi worked methodically, regularly glancing at a print or a painted mannequin head to make sure she had the right shade of color. Kavousi occasionally dabbed his forehead and cheeks with a pad.

This will be Connor’s third year volunteering in the Pageant. Connor said his brother Drew convinced him to audition three years ago.

“It gives me something to do instead of sitting at home during the night,” Connor said.

With makeup applied, Connor fit into a jacket, part of which was fanned open to replicate the wind’s impact on the fabric.

“This piece has got a lot of movement,” costume director Reagan Foy said. “The horse has taken off and the wind is whipping through the costume. We have to create that movement in a static piece.”

A crew member stitched a wire into the jacket to hold its shape.

“The big thing tonight is looking for any final adjustments that need to be made,” Foy said.

Outside in the Irvine Bowl, crew members experimented with lighting on a depiction of the marble sculpture “Apollo served by the Nymphs.”

Technical director Richard Hill watched for anything that might cause a difference with the original work.

An electrician climbed up a tower to change a bulb.

“Stage crew, can you pull one side of the stage?” Hill said. “I’ve got a big shadow on Apollo.”

This year’s Pageant will feature works by Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Tiepolo, and Jean-Antoine Watteau among the 41 pieces of art with stops in Venice, Pompeii and Paris, according to a news release.

Performances will be held nightly at 8:30 p.m. from July 7 through Aug. 31 at 650 Laguna Canyon Road.

Ticket prices range from $15 to $230.

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

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce