Makeup artist satisfied in making others look good

By Christy Barritt

Correspondent

Not many people can say they've discussed the difference between nargoyles and gargoyles with James Earl Jones.

Sara Seidman Vance can.

She also can fondly recall being a turtle stand-in during the filming of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2," building full-sized horse replicas for the movie "Braveheart" and doing Katie Holmes' makeup on the television show "Dawson's Creek."

Vance, who moved back to her hometown of Chesapeake seven years ago, has a long history in showbiz.

Her father, Philip, worked in Vaudeville before opening Mr. Quick's Fried Chicken in Churchland. Her mother, Suzanne, worked as museum curator for the Portsmouth Community Arts Center and taught art history at Old Dominion University.

Vance, 47, learned to do makeup while at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she received her high school and college degrees.

"I had to do all of my own hair and makeup and wig work," said Vance, whose degree is in opera. "We had to learn everything from the ground up. It gives you a respect for what the other people in the business are doing."

She wanted to be an actress, but a chance encounter on a movie set landed her a gig in the makeup department.

"People heard about my work and it blossomed," Vance said. " Instead of auditioning for films or being in films, I ended up working the production side and actually making more money at it."

Vance said she continued her education through the school of hard knocks.

"Each time you go to a new show, you learn something new," Vance said. "If you have a really good makeup artist, they're willing to share. "

Her resume includes working on "Cold Mountain," "Patch Adams," "Dawson's Creek," the "Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" and "Matlock."

While working on "Dawson's Creek," she returned home for a class reunion for the former Chesapeake Demonstration School. She reconnected with her first boyfriend, Ronald, and they've been together ever since.

"I married the man who gave me my very first kiss, and he'll give me my last," said Vance, who now lives in Western Branch. The couple has four children between them, all out of the house.

Vance now works for the Christian Broadcasting Network. She still does local commercial shoots.

"The opportunities still come, but they're few and far between now that I'm really a permanent fixture at CBN," Vance said.

Hairstylist Coni Andress of Wilmington, N.C., worked with Vance for three years at "Dawson's Creek."

"She's got a good handle on what makeup looks good on people," Andress said, "and what makeup works with the lighting, which can be tricky. You have to cover people's imperfections, but you can't overdo it or the makeup looks like a mask."

Andress said she also admires Vance's spirit.

"She's not a quitter," Andress said. "She's tenacious, bright and smart. You have to have a level of intelligence and tenacity to do this job."

For more information, visit www.saraseidmanvance.com.

Christy Barritt, 651-6166, christybarritt@cox.net