Reproducing Art on a Smaller Scale : Kids at Seal Beach’s McGaugh Elementary School Bring Paintings to Life Through Music and Dance

SEAL BEACH —  Look out Pageant of the Masters. J.H. McGaugh school might just steal your thunder.

For the past eight months, the award-winning elementary school has been preparing Pageant of the Arts, a miniature version of Laguna Beach’s famous summer pageant of “living pictures.” And guess what? The kids’ version includes 20th-Century art, modern dance and music composed by a former member of the rock group Berlin.

The pageant is the brainchild of third-grade teacher Jean Parks, who directs a cast of more than 75 pupils. With the help of art instructor Shirley Johns, the youngsters have studied the techniques of Joan Miro and learned to mix paint and apply it to canvas in the style of the famous Spanish abstract artist. They created a huge tableau of his painting “The Smile of the Wings of Fire” to serve as the focal point for this year’s pageant, which includes representations of works by six other artists.

The pageant, now in its ninth year, will take place tonight at the McGaugh School auditorium. For the pupils, it is the culmination of months of work, most of it after school.

Youngsters in upper grades have researched Miro’s life and works with the aid of Media Center teacher Lois Cohn. Matt Reid, Cohn’s son and onetime keyboardist with Berlin, composes music for the show. The fourth-grade class has used its research to prepare a narrative, which will be performed by 9-year-old Philip Weil as Miro. “I used to be afraid to speak in front of an audience,” said Weil, who spoke his lines flawlessly at rehearsal this week. “Playing Miro helped me overcome that. I’m really excited about the performance.”

In some scenes, the dancers are costumed to blend into the tableau. They will freeze into position on stage, creating a three-dimensional version of the work. The painting then comes to life through music and dance.

Parks said the concept of teaching children art by doing was inspired by the original Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. But the idea of adding dance to the pageant was inspired by a documentary she saw on former New York City Ballet dancer Jacques d’Amboise and his work preparing a group of inner-city children with no dance backgrounds for a night of dancing on Broadway. “I’ve always wanted to have a dance troupe,” said Parks. The documentary, she said, “triggered something in me, and gave me the confidence to tap into children’s natural love of movement.”

With the support of principal John Blaydes, Parks began the pageant nine years ago in her first year at McGaugh. The first pageant featured “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat, which is also included in this year’s production. Parks also formed Splash, an after-school dance troupe she uses to bring the paintings to life through her original choreography. In subsequent years, Parks and her pupils have focused mostly on works of 20th-Century artists, including Pollock, Mondrian, O’Keeffe, Evergood, Matisse and Winslow Homer, but they’ve also reached back to 16th-Century painter Bruegel for source material. “Successive pageants build on what students have achieved through the years, and the younger students watching them know that someday they will take part,” said Parks.

The children and their parents sign a contract at the beginning of the year agreeing to certain professional behavior during production and performance. “They learn to be on time, to be a supportive audience during rehearsals and treat each other with respect. They take the pageant very seriously, and it’s a great source of pride for them. We have a lot of fun too,”said Parks.

Recent interest in dance brought about by rock videos, especially those of Michael Jackson, has caused more boys to sign up for Park’s dance troupe. “I’m thrilled by that. They’ve been shown that dance is cool, that it’s an acceptable art form for boys,” said Parks.

“Mrs. Parks teaches us the dances for all the paintings, not just the ones we’re portraying,” said 11-year-old Dylan Kann, a member of Splash who performs a mask dance to Reid’s “Moods for Miro.”

“It’s fun,” Dylan said. “We make up steps and sometimes she learns from us.”

Just like the original Pageant of the Masters, McGaugh’s pageant has become a community event. Employees from the nearby Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station have volunteered to work as the set crew, and parents provide backstage supervision. Last year the school was awarded the California School Board Assn.’s Golden Bell Award for outstanding visual and performing arts.

“I think it’s great,” said Dee Challis, assistant director of Laguna’s pageant. “Instead of listening to a lecture, they are learning about creativity by being creative themselves,” she said.

Parks said directing the pageant has helped her become a better classroom teacher. “While getting ready for the pageant, I can observe children from all academic levels exhibit abilities that aren’t apparent in a classroom environment,” she said. “I’ve learned that you can never expect too much of children.”

* Pageant of the Arts will be presented tonight at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at J.H. McGaugh School, 1698 Bolsa Ave., Seal Beach. $2, adults; $1, children. (310) 431-1389.