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JAN–APR 2023 THE REVIEW | 11 FEATURE “Her confidence has grown. She’s taking chances and putting herself out there.” - Marlene Green “But prior to surgery, I was just crawling around a lot and getting holes in my pants, and falling, and standing on my tippy toes.” These days, Destiny attends weekly theatre classes through the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective, and a one-on-one voice coaching class run by partner organisation Stage Antics. Destiny’s participation in both classes culminated in her taking part in two of the Collective’s major performances at the end of 2022 ( Through the Roof Film Festival and Limitless: A Variety Show ), and in a show for Stage Antics ( Christmas with the Whānau ). Making the movie for the film festival was a great experience, she says. I was like ‘it’s actually not that bad’. I think I was just nervous and excited at the same time.” Best of all, says Destiny and her mum Marlene Green, the anxiety didn’t take over. Destiny says in recent years her anxiety levels had led to her becoming anti-social. “The [theatre] group actually pushed me out there to become more social and make more friends.” The beauty of the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective, Destiny says, is that it doesn’t matter what type of disability you have, or even if you have a disability. “They will find a way to make sure everybody is involved. They will find a way, any way, to get every kid involved. “It was fun to see – from when we first started making it, to the very end. Fun, but also educational in how they make a film.” A red carpet event was held to showcase the films created by each of the Collective’s theatre groups. Later in the year, Destiny led a group of three performers to sing Abba’s Mamma Mia at the variety show. “At rehearsals I was nervous, I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous even though there was nobody there [in the audience]. “But as it came to the actual night, I was nervous counting down and once I got on stage “At the Variety show, I was singing, but I can’t stand for long periods of time, so they put out a chair for me, but not just me because they didn’t want to make me feel like the odd one out. So, they put chairs out for me and my friends,” Destiny says. “I think what Glass Ceiling has done is actually good. People with no disabilities can see people with disabilities – they can learn from us who do have disabilities.” Marlene appreciates that her daughter can “do something where she feels she fits in”. “Her confidence has grown. She’s taking chances and putting herself out there.” Marlene says the fact that her son AJ, 9, can also take part in the classes is an added bonus. “It allows them to see what each other is achieving and the progress each other is making.” Marlene says parents thinking about their child attending theatre classes, and wondering whether they would, or could take part, should go along, watch and just give it a go. “A huge thanks to Glass Ceiling Arts Collective and Stage Antics for making this opportunity. “There is so much that we talk about that we would love for our kids, or would love our kids to be able to do, and they’ve actually created that space.” For more information about the Glass Ceiling Arts Collective and the courses it offers, go to www.glassceilingartscollective.com