By Kathy Strong
Laguna Beach has been an exclusive haven for the arts for nearly a century, as well as the sparkling jewel of Southern California’s own scenic Riviera coastline. A year-round destination, Laguna shines brightest in the summer months. Gentle ocean breezes combine with some of the cleanest beaches, water and air on the coast to make the area a magnet for water-play, tide pool exploring, bird watching and just enjoying the refreshing coastal temperatures.
However, it is the art that keeps people coming back each summer with the Festival of Arts and undoubtedly one of the most unique art and theater presentations on earth: The Pageant of the Masters. The live production nearly defies description, but I’ll try. Why? Because this is one event you need to put on your calendar this summer. I defy you to believe the “magic” unveiled before your eyes!
Decades of Making Art Come Alive
In the summer of 1933, the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts was born when around two dozen artists hung their paintings on fences, trees and buildings along Laguna’s main street, hoping to lure visitors to the first Festival of Arts, while some artists opened their home-studios to the public. Music, colorful signs and banners, parades and entertainment added to the celebratory ambiance of the event, which turned Laguna Beach into one enormous art gallery. In 1935, “living pictures” were transformed into a full production with music, narration and painted backdrops, giving birth to “The Pageant of the Masters” which rapidly evolved into a popular summer tradition. Not surprisingly, the pageant now draws an audience of more than 225,000, and the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show prevails as one of the longest-running art exhibitions in the state.
The Pageant of the Masters has since evolved into an internationally acclaimed, fantastical theatrical-art event. With its own permanent home since 1935 in a canyon-cradled amphitheater, the pageant continues to defy optical reality. Guests who return year after year still depart marveling at how art masterpieces—from the “Mona Lisa” to the “Last Supper”—magically become living pictures complete with art-accurate script, professional narration, live orchestra and exquisite costuming.
ART COLONY: IN THE COMPANY OF ARTISTS
It is only appropriate that the 2023 Pageant of the Masters celebrates the 90th anniversary of the first presentation of “living pictures” with this year’s theme–ART COLONY: IN THE COMPANY OF ARTISTS, which acknowledges the deep connections of the Festival and Pageant to the early artists who settled in Laguna Beach. It will also feature other memorable stories of artists assisting one another through cooperation and fellowship in vastly different eras and circumstances around the world.
The world-renowned Pageant of the Masters will celebrate nine decades since the first “living pictures” were presented in 1933. Director Diane “Dee” Challis Davy plans to keep this theatrical summer phenomenon fresh and inspirational for new and returning Pageant audiences to enjoy. Presented under Laguna Beach’s starry-summer night sky, the 2023 Pageant will also feature live, original music and narration, breathtaking theatrical illusions, and some surprises, all presented in the 2,600-seat amphitheater of the Irvine Bowl.
“My goal for this year is to select a majority of artwork that has never been presented by the Pageant,” stated Director Challis Davy. “This theme has been a challenging one so far. I feel like I’m starting with a clean slate – or a blank canvas – and we’re taking a leap of faith not exactly knowing how it will evolve into a show. As always, I want to incorporate elements of theatrical performance and spectacle to make the show entertaining as well as educational.”
There’s a reason the idea of a lone-wolf artist driven to work in isolation against heavy odds is a cliché. It’s because for many who choose the path of art, it’s true. At the Pageant of the Masters, during her tenure as director, Challis Davy has honored many artists with memorable recreations of their work as “living pictures”. As she’s assembling the artworks to be included in the 2023 production, however, she’s shifting her focus to another vision of the world of art, where artists offer support and inspire one another, and often choose to work and live together. The art colony established in Laguna Beach in the early years of the 20th century was the primary inspiration for the 2023 Pageant theme: “Art Colony: In the Company of Artists.” Next summer audiences can expect a much more diverse and surprisingly theatrical celebration of how artists have embraced or created communities where they can live and work, both separately and together.
Challis Davy continued, “I’m interested in what makes a place an ‘art colony.’ What are the essential ingredients to establish an art colony? Is there ineffable magic in the landscape, the light or the sky that draws artists? Is it a commitment to cooperation, camaraderie and shared love of art or something else?”
PLAN TO GO
PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS
“ART COLONY: IN THE COMPANY OF ARTISTS”
July 7 – September 1, 2023
Performances Nightly at 8:30pm
Tickets: online at www.PageantTickets.com or by calling (800) 487-3378
Photos courtesy Pageant of the Masters/Festival of Arts
