Folks who want to be part of a troupe of silent actors whose only job is to stand perfectly still for 90 seconds showed up in Laguna Beach over the weekend to see if they measure up.
The annual Pageant of the Masters will put on “À La Mode: The Art of Fashion” this July through August and was looking for volunteers for the two casts that will help create the show’s tableaux vivants, better known as living pictures.
The show uses two casts of 150 people who rotate each week. The volunteers, wearing costumes, makeup and headpieces, pose to recreate the artwork. Measurements are very specific to each piece and, beyond staying stationary as the curtain lifts, are key to getting a specific part.
The upcoming production will be the pageant’s 91st show.
Produced by Diane Challis Davy, now directing her 28th season, this year’s show draws from modern and historical fashion, she said. Some inspirations include the 2019 Dolce and Gabbana runway show, the annual Met Gala ball, and television programs such as “Project Runway” and “Fashion Police.”
“Modern fashion shows are very theatrical, and designers are always pushing the envelope of outrageousness and showmanship,” Challis Davy said. “That appeals to me.”
Challis Davy mixes new inspirations with historical periods, relying on art from the past to showcase people’s styles before photography was invented.
“In the hands of classic designers like the House of Worth in the 19th century on up to today’s modern masters like Alexander McQueen, fashion has become increasingly more extravagant,” she said.
This year’s show will display paintings by American artist John Singer Sargent, French artists Edouard Manet and James Tissot and British painters Thomas Gainsborough and David Hockney. The pageant will also showcase brooches and pendants from jewelers in the early 1900s, and some figurines by artist and designer Erté.
There will also be a nod to Hollywood designer Edith Head,…
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