From cover girl to Camelot
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1996.
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She was the first of a few select Miss Cayman Islands. lands ever to receive an international award. The year was 1978 and Wendy Daykin was Cayman's beauty queen.
In 1996, now Wendy Moore, she is reigning again - this time on stage as Queen Guenevere in the Cayman Drama Society's production of Camelot.
Not surprisingly, the intervening years have brought profound changes. Yet in other ways she is remarkably the same. A whopping 98 pounds at the time of her crowning, Wendy cheerfully confesses to weighing a couple of pounds more. still wears a size four or five. When she entered the competition she had been out of high school about a year and was working at a local bank.
Questioned about her future, she said there were career opportunities to be explored and she thought it important to find something she would be happy doing. Meanwhile, she told interviewers, she was content to concentrate on her duties as Miss Cayman for that year.
After Wendy completed her reign, her ballet training and stage experience kept her involved in theatre. She was really too young to play Adelaide in Guys and dolls, but succeeded through sheer ability. Educating Rita, with Clive Munyard, earned her unequivocal acclaim.
Her last major role was Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady five years ago. Complimented recently on her appearance and vivacity, Wendy attributed both to her life style — a happy family and a job she enjoys.
Ten years ago, she married Tracey Moore, a commercial loans officer at CIBC. They have a daughter, 6, and a son, two and a half. Wendy manages a condominium complex.
When she heard that the Drama Society was planning to do Camelot, she wondered about getting
use involved. "I knew it would mean a lot of commitment. But it was a musical I wanted to be in.
"I'm 36 years old," she said candidly. "Lead females are younger, not older. Besides, when would a role like Guenevere come along again?"
She thought "long and hard" about it until her husband told her, "It's something you love. Go ahead and do it."
With Tracey's blessing and the excitement of her little girl who loves to see Mommy on stage, Wendy devoted many evenings to full cast rehearsals plus extra sessions with co-stars Neil Rooney (King Arthur) and Kevin Redfern (Sir Lancelot) to discuss their characters' evolving relationships.
Her own character undergoes substantial evolution as well, part of the attraction the role has for an actress.
"Guenevere is clever, but initially she is also naive. She's never been away from home before and there she is - sent off to marry someone she's never seen," Wendy pointed out.
She lists the qualities that Guenevere finds attractive in Arthur, then quickly notes that many of the same traits are found in Lancelot. Some of Guenevere's dislike for Lancelot arises, Wendy believes, from jealousy of his role as Arthur's new companion. Later, as she finds her "space in the trio" she starts to focus on things she likes about the young man instead of what she doesn't like.
The conflict that results and how less-noble minds make use of it is what lifts Camelot above the ordinary. nary love triangle.
The production, which opened last week, continues tonight at 7:30 at the Prospect Playhouse, tomorrow at 6 pm. It then runs Thursday through Saturday for the next two weeks.
