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Show ggoaCTWra , .......m.. ,., -- t j. ..u .u ... ....... ,,,,,,.,., . -. ,,,,,.,,, , .. , Citizen, Review, Press, Wed., June 20, 1984 - Page 17 H! I I X X X S f x "X " X : '' I v x-- v i - .1 - . - , x V. '. xx x ' y' v'w-,- - - , i rv-:xX;X:;o- - I . , ? r. K ' - 'X - --X J Cast members for the Pageant of the Arts line up for makeup as extensive preparation to participate in pageant begins hours before the curtain will rise. J Beljiijd tlje sccijeg at tle Pageaijt of tl?e rts Photos and text by MARC HADDOCK The anticipation is there, as the performers get themselves ready for a minute or two in front of the audience. But at the Utah Pageant of the Arts, none of the action takes place on stage - at least not ' on purpose. When the cast members perform, they are expected to reach perfection -- perfection in appearance accompanied by the perfect stillness of the work of art their scene is recreating. It's behind the scenes - getting ready, applying the extensive and detailed makeup and paint, the putting on of carefully painted costumes, and the delicate posing on the stage itself just before the living art replica is revealed to the audience all of the action happens at the Pageant. Because the pageant is an artists' showcase, the culmination of months of work and preparation where ever detail must be attended to before the curtain is raised. And the art works that resemble so closely the works from which they are drawn are testaments to craftsmanship and a faultless attention to detail that often takes an audience's breath away, while the cast members hold perfectly still - simply another element to be shaped and molded by the artist. But while all is quiet on the stage, behind the scenes the action ebbs and flows as large, then small, then large numbers of cast members are moved from the waiting room, to the stage to the dressing room. Long before the curtain rises on the first painting, cast members have lined up, following detailed timetables for each scene as makeup artists follow paintings and detailed drawings to prepare each par-ticipant. And sometimes it's not easy. The body makeup differs in temperature with color, and while the gold paint tends to make the cast member feel hot, the white paint is cold for the four and who will' play the cherubs in "Mantle Clock." The dressing rooms buzz as individual after individual is made up and sent to the war-drobe room, where costumes are donned and details are finished - often including some touch-u- p painting on costumes where the paint is cracking or has fallen off. Then it's to the waiting room to talk, read, or play cards, until casts are called for each painting or sculpture. There's a frantic call now and then for someone who hasn't shown up yet for his or her part, but long before the Pageant is nearing its close, activity in the dressing room has slowed to a crawl. At the stage entrance, cast members are called up and shown through the door where they enter the stage, are posed and otherwise prepared for the meeting with the audience. Then each is whisked out again to remove the makeup (it must all be gone before they can leave the building), and go home, their performance ended until the next night. X . . h ':(Y , - I .'- - r v 'US x i XA v x ( 1 ' ?' : ' x V'- - i - . J ' ' x v ; - ' ' " X t '1 I ' "XV.' ; " vX'i , Top: Tiny Heather Strasburg holds stiff pose as she freezes in white body makeup. Below: Cast member waits to go on stage. i ... ' ' I "X ' ' - ' j I "; ? X- - 1 . .... ... I ' P x .v I V j . , 1 t Vs.-- .. V; v . " i - . x 1 f. - x i 1 t 'A I 4 1 ,vX',''ll"lk J .'..w.w'.wricrMf I "elve-year-ol-d Miriam Chadwick applies gold make up for her role in the pageant. Inset photo shows Miriam after her appearance on the stage, and after the makeup has been removed. |