Artist’s Self Portrait Reflects Perfect Casting

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Jim Caverly and Adrian Van Deudekom in the Pageant’s re-creation of Norman Rockwell’s “Triple Self Portrait”

The frame surrounding Norman Rockwell’s famous “Triple Self Portrait,” reproduced in this year’s “Pageant of the Masters,” masks a bit of backstage drama owed to serendipity.

Volunteering as a cast member at the Pageant since 2004, Laguna Beach resident Adrian Van Deudekom has appeared as a French merrymaker, part of a parading circus and a statue of Icharus, to name a few. This year, he was cast as Norman Rockwell in the reproduction of “Triple Self-Portrait,” where the artist is looking into a mirror and drawing an image of himself.

The reflection that Rockwell sees in the mirror is that of Jim Caverly, volunteering as a cast member since 2005. His portrayals include boatman and sphinx admirer.

In the show’s second act, Van Deudekom and Caverly sit facing each other in the Rockwell reproduction.

It turns out they do the same in their day jobs. They work together at Disneyland Resort, where Van Deudekom is the director of partnership marketing and Caverly is a sourcing specialist in the 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, Mass., home of Rockwell’s “Triple Self-Portrait”.

And Van Deudekom possesses a connection to Rockwell of his own, though a bit distantly. His neighbor Andrew Herrick 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 20 years. The home was a focal point for holidays. When they said they were having “a Rockwell Christmas”, they actually were.

Five Rockwell’s illustrations and paintings are reproduced in the production of “The Genius,” 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., which continues nightly through Aug. 31. For tickets go to www.PageantTickets.com or call 1-800- 487-3378.

 

 

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