MASTERPIECE THEATER VOLUNTEERS BRING LIFE TO WORKS OF ART IN LAGUNA BEACH FESTIVAL'S 'CALIFORNIA DREAMERS'.

Byline: Story by Eric Estorga Staff Writer

``California Dreamers'' is the very apt title for this year's Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, for it is the culmination of the hard work and dreams of many volunteers.

``California Dreamers: Artists, Explorers, Innovators & Visionaries'' includes living pictures (``tableaux vivants'') of 46 works of art. The living art, accompanied by a 28-piece orchestra and sopranos Robin Follman and Amy Vance, leads audiences on an enchanting journey as a narrator briefly explains the significance and history of each piece.

The original art is transformed into ``living art'' using dramatic lighting and spectacular makeup, costume painting and set design. In ``living art,'' a set is created to match the painting or sculpture and real people are positioned on stage in the exact position they are in the painting or sculpture, creating a breathtaking visual effect.

Some of the most remarkable stage illusions are often devised with the most simple raw materials: cotton muslin, latex, paint, polystyrene and black plastic.

For example, in the Hollywoodland segment, the living picture of the ``La Brea Gateway'' morphs into shiny statues of silver. At four corners, in the blink of an eye, young girls stand as pillars and bearers to the silver monument. The girls portray actresses Delores Del Rio, Mae West, Dorothy Dandridge and Anna May Wong.

``The 'La Brea Gateway' silver girls' costumes were not difficult to make, but because of the nature of the fabric, they required a considerable amount of hand sewing finish, which is more time-consuming than our usual machine assembly,'' says Jan Sattler, who cuts and drapes fabric for the sculpture costumes.

``The audience will never know how much time and teamwork goes into producing the total package,'' adds headpiece director Mary LaVenture. ``They will never see the minute details, even with binoculars, but hopefully the total effect is better because of those details. The commitment of the Pageant staff is to make a quality product.''

Working her fourth season with the Pageant, LaVenture is responsible for building everything from the neck up, including hair, hats, headdresses and masks.

After makeup and costumes are finished, the headpieces are put on the cast members, along with beards, mustaches and jewelry. The cast members then move onto the stage and members of the headpiece crew make a final inspection of each to make sure the costumes and makeup - and safety belts - are in perfect order.

An example of the attention to detail and commitment to excellence can be found in the Roman pool from Hearst Castle. The male figure is Apoxyomenos, a Roman copy of a Greek statue of an athlete holding a strigil. What's a strigil? It's a tool used to scrape oil and dirt off the athlete's skin.

Helga Gergens, a self-described ``art buff,'' enjoyed the Pageant so much, she enrolled in a casting call six years ago and has been volunteering ever since.

As a living-picture volunteer, Gergens will stand atop the stage as Roman statuary next to Apoxyomenos under ``The Great Collectors: Huntington, Simon & Hearst'' title picture ``Roman Pool.''

Gergens, a certified public accountant for the state, says it takes about 1 1/2 hours to be painted, get into costume and placed on stage, but this depends on how much detail is needed. This year, she is white with no detail, which makes things easier for her.

``In the past, I had a lot of detail done where painting would take up to 45 minutes. You wait about five to 10 minutes to be called then placed in your set,'' says Gergens. Then it's lights, music, narration and staying still.

After two minutes in frozen time, the ``fun part'' comes - trying to get the paint off. ``You find out real quick where you normally don't wash,'' says Gergens. ``I guess I never thought about scrubbing my elbows on a regular basis because, inevitably, I find I missed paint there.''

Leonardo da Vinci's ``The Last Supper'' will return, after a year's hiatus, as the night's finale. Some of the volunteers for ``The Last Supper'' have been with the Pageant for close to 30 years. Extra effort was taken to accurately depict the changes made by the 20-year restoration of the original in Milan, Italy. Pageant research volunteer Ann Webster traveled from Switzerland to Milan by train, just to photograph the famous painting and provide the Pageant with the information necessary to add the final touches.

Legions of volunteers - acting as cast members, backstage dressers, makeup assistants, and refreshment servers - have contributed more than 60,000 hours of their time to replicate in one evening what would take an art lover two weeks, a couple of airplane tickets and a lot of money to view up close.

The facts

--What: Pageant of the Masters at Laguna Beach's Festival of the Arts.

--Where: Irvine Bowl, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.

--When: 8:30 p.m. nightly through Aug. 31. Festival art exhibits are open 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily.

--How much: $10 to $50 for pageant; $3 to $5 for festival exhibits only.

--Information: [phone]; box office, [phone].

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) The sculpture ``History, Science and Art,'' composed of actors in tableaux vivants, will be on view in the Pageant of the Masters at Laguna Beach's Festival of the Arts.

(2 -- color) Dressed, painted and positioned on the set, Riva Gardner, 15, left, becomes Delores Del Rio in ``La Brea Gateway.''

(3 -- color) At right, Sydne Ames, 7, gets her face painted by makeup volunteer Sara Simkins for the portrait ``California Abundance.''

(4 -- 5 -- color) Above, Helga Gergens portrays a sculpture from Hearst Castle in ``The Roman Pool.'' At left, Kasey Perry, Malia Ogden and Shannon Kingston get final makeup touches in an offstage kitchen in preparation for the staging of the sculpture ``History, Science and Art.''

(6 -- 7 -- color) At right, Jenna Garlock, her makeup and costume already completed, gets into position to ring the bell in J. Henry Sandham's ``Toll for Sunrise Mass'' as festival workers examine the last-minute details. Above, the finished work, ready for viewing.

Photos by Leo Hetzel/Staff Photographer