The event is known for its tableaux vivants or "living pictures" in which classical and contemporary works of art are recreated by real people who are made to look nearly identical to the originals through the clever application of costumes, makeup, headdresses, lighting, props, and backdrops.

Persuading residents of Laguna Beach to dress in costume, she seated them behind an oversized frame, recreating well-known works of art.

[3] The "Spirit of the Masters Pageant" was formally started the next year by the Festival's organizers and was put on again in 1934, but in those early days was an amateur operation of low quality.

[4] In 1934, local developer Roy Ropp expressed his dissatisfaction with the poor quality of the production in blunt terms; the Festival's board responded to his frank criticism by placing him in charge of the Pageant.

In 2014, The New York Times summarized the event by stating:[11]"The pageant is hard to describe, because it is — in a strict sense — unique: There is nothing else in the world like it."