COSMIC CONNECTIONS: PAGEANT OF THE MASTERS VOLUNTEERS CAST IN ROCKWELL PAINTING DISCOVER UNCANNY INTERTWINING WITH NORMAN ROCKWELL’S LIFE AND WORK
Laguna Beach, CA — This summer the Pageant of the Masters is the stage for an uncanny series of connections surrounding Norman Rockwell, whose famous “Triple Self Portrait” is reproduced in this year’s acclaimed Pageant production of “The Genius”.
Adrian Van Deudekom has been volunteering as a cast member at the Pageant of the Masters since 2004, where he has appeared as a French merrymaker, a parading circus member and a statue of Icharus, to name a few. This year, he was cast as Norman Rockwell in the reproduction of “Triple Self-Portrait,” a delightful piece in which Rockwell is at once looking into a mirror and drawing an image of himself.
Jim Caverly was cast as the reflection that Rockwell sees in the mirror. Caverly has been volunteering as a cast member at the Pageant since 2005, and has portrayed everything from a boatman to a sphinx admirer.
In the Norman Rockwell reproduction, Van Deudekom and Caverly sit facing each other. It turns out that this isn’t the first time they have sat across from each other; they are often face to face as they work together at Disneyland Resort, where Van Deudekom is the director of partnership marketing and where Caverly is a sourcing specialist in the sourcing and procurement department. Caverly often creates contracts for Van Deudekom’s needs.
Both men found it amusing that they happened to be cast in the same piece. But the coincidence didn’t stop there. It turns out that Caverly’s mother, Peri Caverly, works as a docent at the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts… the home of Rockwell’s “Triple Self-Portrait”.
Furthermore, Adrian Van Deudekom has a familiar connection to Rockwell of his own. The family of his neighbor, Andrew Herrick (Laguna Beach resident and president of Crankbrothers bicycle components of Laguna Beach), used to own the house where Rockwell produced most of his paintings, including his “Triple Self-Portrait”. Herrick’s family purchased the house from Rockwell’s children and owned it for twenty years; they would gather to it for holidays and enjoyed many fond memories there. When they said they were having “a Rockwell Christmas”, they actually were.
Norman Rockwell’s illustrations and paintings are known for the reflective, bemused perspective of everyday American life in the middle of the 20th century. Each tells a vibrant story. It makes one wonder how he might render the Pageant of the Masters and a string of locals connected by his work.
Norman Rockwell’s “Triple Self-Portrait” can be seen as a reproduction in the Pageant of the Masters production of “The Genius,” which continues nightly throughout August.
The Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters are sponsored in part by Acura, Cox Communications, Fidelity Investments, KOST Radio 103.5, the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, and The Orange County Register. The Festival of Arts is a non-profit organization that produces The Festival of Arts – California’s Premier Fine Art Show and the Pageant of the Masters. For general information, call (949) 494-1145 or visit the website at www.LagunaFestivalofArts.org. The event is located at 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California. Proceeds support the arts and art education in and about Laguna Beach.
# # #
Meghan Perez
Media contact: Sharbie Higuchi, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Festival of Arts • 650 Laguna Canyon Road • Laguna Beach, CA 92651
