Good To Be The Queen

Anne Boleyn finds her inner Cinderella at the Faire

Wendy Morris is Queen Anne Boleyn and Scott Long is her king at this year's Kansas City Renaissance Festival.
Wendy Morris is Queen Anne Boleyn and Scott Long is her king at this year's Kansas City Renaissance Festival.

It's better to be Anne Boleyn in Kansas City than Anne Boleyn in 16th century England. The second bride of Henry VIII, she was executed after a thousand days of marriage. The allegations included witchcraft, but the truth was, she had failed to bear Henry a son.

The world of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival is a far happier one. For seven weekends in September and October, the queen gets to rule beside a loving, laughing king. And this is her fourth year -- so she's already outlasted her namesake.

FAQ

Kansas City

Renaissance Festival

WHEN — 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Sunday & Columbus Day; final weekend Oct. 17-18

WHERE — Bonner Springs, Kan., just west of Kansas City

COST — $10.45-$20.95

INFO — 913-721-2110 or kcrenfest.com

Where reality and fantasy intersect is in the effort it takes to be queen, says Wendy Morris, by weekday a "milk maid," she adds laughing. (She is a lab technician administrator for Dairy Farmers of America.)

"Being queen is actually a lot more work than people think," she says. "But [after 13 years at the festival], I already knew what I was getting in to. The king [Scott Long] and I are very team driven. We want our court to function as a team. It's this weird balance as far as conducting business and leading the court.

"But the perks of that are I get to have my lunch at the joust every single day. And I get to meet all these little girls who see nothing but the pretty dress. When they call out, 'Queen! Queen!' it's this wonderful sound that resonates through my entire soul."

Like most of the 300-member cast, Morris started out as a street performer -- "a flirty, swashbuckling pirate," she describes -- whose main job was to interact with guests in the village of Canterbury. Open since 1977, the Renaissance Festival can see 13,000 to 15,000 visitors on a weekend, and many of them want to get in on the act. Sometimes that puts the contracted actors between a rock and a hard place.

"The hardest part can be for a performer is to stand apart from a person who comes in in costume," Morris says. "They get to drink and roughhouse all they want to -- and that's something a performer would never do."

The Kansas City festival concentrates on being family friendly, she explains, so visitors can expect to find more rides, more children's activities and more stage shows suitable for any age.

"We've been a family friendly show for a good 10 years," Morris says. "That's something we really want to keep going."

From the time visitors enter the gates to the village, there's more to see than the eye can take in. Turn right, and there's a town green with fire twirlers or maypole dancers. Turn left, and the joust is at the top of the hill. The village is shaped vaguely like Mickey Mouse's head, with the front gate situated under the mouse's left ear. As visitors circle the various areas, they'll find music, food, games, a chance to ride an elephant, a camel and a dragon, artisans demonstrating period crafts and, if they keep their eyes open, they can follow this year's "scenario," which has Prince Charming seeking Cinderella amid the festivalgoers.

"Cinderella is our mysterious princess this year," Morris explains, falling easily into the accent and persona of the queen. "She did leave the ball in a mysterious way. None of us know her name, but all the children do. The prince of course is trying to find her and search her out. He is quite lovesick. He does try a lovely jeweled slipper on all the maidens throughout the festival day. In a wonderful final scene, our Cinderella transforms in front of your very eyes from a peasant to a beautiful, striking princess. And everyone does applaud."

Morris, too, found her inner Cinderella at the Renaissance Festival.

"What has stuck with me was how people just accepted me, how I am," she remembers. "I'm very quirky. I say the wrong things at the wrong time. They took me in wholeheartedly. We've become quite a lovely little family."

NAN What's Up on 10/09/2015

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