At local pageants ahead of Miss America 2020, no changes yet

ERIN SERPICO Staff Writer Aug 4, 2018 

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Beneath the Performing Arts Center stage on a July Sunday, nine women sat before their reflections in vanity mirrors with Miss America on the brain.

The contestants lounged in the backstage dressing rooms in athletic clothes, bare feet and some with their hair set in curls. Pink makeup brush sets and bobby pin stacks sat spread out before them as they rounded out a nearly 12-hour day.

Some touched up each other’s hair, and they reminded one another what to remember for the show: The evening gowns, the swimsuits, the matching sailor hats for the opening number — until one voice called through the thick cloud of hairspray, “Girls, they’re ready to start!”

This is the first step to becoming Miss America in South Jersey.

None of the changes from Miss America have come to the local pageants yet, five weeks ahead of the crowning of Miss America 2019 in Atlantic City.

“This pageant is business as usual because that’s what we’re told,” said Carol Taylor, a local director for shore pageants behind the moving parts of the day.

Miss America has undergone many changes during the past several months: It will no longer be a pageant, but a competition, and there will not be “contestants,” but instead, “candidates.” The swimsuit component has been eliminated, and there will be changes to the evening gown portion.

Miss America Board of Trustees Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson indicated at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon in Washington, D.C., that the changes would arrive at the local and state pageants after the national telecast.

“Whoever wins tonight will go to Miss New Jersey and will have competed in swimsuit here,” said candidate Alyssa Sullivan, 22, of Cape May Court House, before the local competition. “Now at Miss New Jersey, we won’t be.”

Sullivan won the title of Miss Atlantic Shores that evening. She has competed in Miss New Jersey four times.

The local contestants arrived at the Performing Arts Center at 9 a.m. that Sunday. They set up their spots in the dressing rooms and practiced the opening number for the show, then ran through the patterns for walking on stage.

“Every pageant I go into, I’m Miss America ready,” said Natalie Ragazzo, 22, of Ocean City, who has competed in two Miss New Jersey competitions. “I think that judges should be looking for Miss America, whether it is a local or Miss America. You should be Miss America ready.”

Ragazzo was crowned Miss Eastern Shore that night.

But local crowns and swimsuits aside, for many contestants, the pageant is family. Past titleholders came to the Performing Arts Center to watch and volunteer their time, but mostly to connect with the contestants they’ve known from competing in the past.

Miss New Jersey 2018 Jaime Gialloreto arrived a few hours ahead of the crowning to chat with the contestants and give advice. As she walked backstage, she asked them how their interview portions went.

“Locals really are the backbone of this organization,” said Gialloreto, 19, of Woolwich Township, Gloucester County. “The local directors, the local pageants, it’s where the journey begins. Miss America was crowned on a local stage just like this one somewhere in the country.”

For some local contestants, the pageant is an annual affair. Those who didn’t win can try again during another local pageant.

Sullivan said she wished others could see the connections they make behind the scenes, beyond the glitter and glam.

“The titleholders just want to keep being a part of something that makes them better and empowers them,” she said. “Pageants are so much more than just the glitter and the dresses. They give you life experiences, so many skills and things to take with you.”

Minutes before the audience filed into the Performing Arts Center that day, the girls got into a huddle. They had just completed their individual, private interviews with the judges, and needed to convene for a final rehearsal of what their stage formations would look like.

“Did you have fun?” Miss New Jersey choreographer and assistant producer Aggie Becker asked the group of Miss America hopefuls. “You’re awesome, you’re smart, you’re just really awesome kids.”

The lights went dim, the black curtain went up, and the show began.

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/missamerica/at-local-pageants-ahead-of-miss-america-no-changes-yet/article_f7f6c627-0e89-57fa-b4ca-4824785f1137.html