OUR LAGUNA:A passion for Pageant of the Masters

Anita Mangels saw the 2006 Pageant of the Masters “A Passion for Art” program four times before it opened to the public.

“It just gets better every time,” said the Festival of Arts president, who attended all of previews including VIP night on July 6. “I could see it 57 nights in a row and it’s always different.”

The tableaux vivants that transform life into art were first staged in Laguna in 1933 as a publicity stunt to attract visitors to a fledgling art show. Last year, more than 210,000 people saw the show.

Anne Webster was among them. Webster, who worked backstage for 28 years, never got to see the show from beginning to end until she ran for the board five years ago.

“I would sneak out and look to see if we needed to change the makeup,” Webster said.

Pageant audiences are a faithful lot.

Laguna Beach Visitor’s Bureau president Karen Philippsen has seen the show every year since 1981, when she attended with her son.

Local CPA Jim McBride has seen the show for at least 20 years. Attorney Susan Trager has been going to the pageant since 1978. Her husband, Eric Norby, chief of staff for his brother, Orange County Supervisor Chris Norby, started going to the show after the couple married.

“The most recent shows have been more fun,” Trager said. “They are a little edgier.”

Traditionally, the only action in the show took place in the “Builder” vignette when a “living picture” is assembled in full view of the audience. The 2005 show featured a circus parade, as well as a focus on America’s pop culture.

“Last year was show biz, this year it’s the Pageant of the Masters,” Vern Spitaleri said.

Spitaleri and his wife, Cherry, have been attending performances since 1957, before and after his terms on the festival board.

Also in the VIP audience: board members Wayne Baglin, Bob Henry, Linda Potichke, Carolyn Reynolds, Fredric Sattler and Weber; actress Sally Struthers and game show host Peter Marshall; Festival Foundation board member John Campbell and his wife, Lu, a festival exhibitor on sabbatical; Mitra Azar, representative of Montblanc of South Coast Plaza, sponsor of the festival’s summer education programs; and representatives of sponsors Mercedes Benz Dealers of Southern California, Fidelity Investments, KOST 103.5 FM, the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Adelphia and Kendall Jackson.

The 500 volunteers who make up the cast and backstage crew are as faithful as the ardent pageant fans.

Frank Wales has been checking in the cast members for nearly 20 years. Norma Duthie met her husband, John Hardgrove, when they were both cast in “The Last Supper” in 1990, roles they have reprised for 16 years.

“No matter how bad my day is, I look forward to going down to the pageant,” said Judy Flanders, a volunteer for 13 years. “Everyone enjoys what they’re doing ? and you can’t help but be in a good mood when everybody around you is happy.”

Marilyn Wood has trained and supervised ushers since 1961.

“We had about 35 ushers working the VIP preview, but we need more than 100 to allow for days off,” Wood said.

“Ushers have to be at least in high school. We also have the parents, who usher rather than wait in a car reading a book, and seniors.”

Janeen Bell is one of the staff of 15 that works in the Festival Gift Shop, expanded five years ago by marketing and public relations director Sharbie Higuchi from a poster booth.

Posters are still among the popular items, but T-shirts and sweat shirts are the best sellers, Bell said.

The shirts and sweats feature art by festival exhibitors including Carolyn Machado and Dennis Gus Zervas. Carolyn Zimmerman’s art is featured on a poster. Anne England’s work is on a mug.

Art-related books, children’s activities and a shrug that Higuchi wore at the VIP Preview are also featured.

The pageant season will wind down Aug. 26 with a star-studded gala benefit. Tickets are $50 to $300. Proceeds will benefit the non-profit Festival of Arts building fund.

For more information, visit web site www.pageanttickets.com or call (949) 494-1145 or (800) 487-3378.

One hot ticket

The Festival of Arts private opening July 1 was standing room only.

More than 3,400 art lovers, collectors and just plain folks attended the invitation-only event.

The show has been voted by the readers of American Style as the third best art festival in the country. Works by more than 145 artists are showcased this year.

Among the exhibitors: Photographer Tommy Davy, a 2006 Laguna Beach High School graduate and a Festival of the Arts Scholarship recipient, who will attend the California Institute of the Arts in the fall.

His talent runs in the family.

His mom is Pageant of the Arts director Dee Dee Challis Davy, also a festival scholarship winner who attended Cal Arts. Like her son, she practically grew up on the festival grounds. Her dad is former gallery owner and festival board member Richard Challis.

“I am proud to be carrying on the family’s artistic tradition,” Davy said,

An art major in high school, Tommy Davy credits teacher Peter Tiner for his interest in photography.

However, music is also a major player in his life. His guitar repertoire includes traditional, classic and folk music, mostly gypsy. Due to his interest, Davy’s family organized the Django music festival in Laguna.

Davy is one of the youngest artists ever juried into the Festival of Arts.

Jeweler Lance Heck, who is still in the show, also was 18 when his work was first accepted. Joan Irvine Smith was a mere 14 when she exhibited, but it is not known if she juried into the show or if her work was a part of the junior show.

Seen in the crowd at the opening: Art-a-Fair founder Iris Adam; Realtors Bobbi Cox and Patty Truman; Friends of the Library volunteer Janet Pressman; Barbara Painter; Arts Commissioner Pat Kollenda; and City Council members Steven Dicterow, Jane Egly, Toni Iseman and Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider.