A content presentation system is disclosed for composing a visual scene for an audience using content contained in a storage device, and storing the visual appearance of the scene for later retrieval and recreation by the presentation system. Scenes are recalled in a manner that permits further manipulation of the scene during the live presentation. Scenes can furthermore be recalled in random order, or cued to time-based media such as video, modifying existing elements in the staging area to the extent necessary to recreate the stored scene.