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10 | THE REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2026 From Ōmokoroa to New York Koen McKenzie took advantage of every opportunity to learn when he attended a performing arts programme in America. By MELANIE LOUDEN What started off as “just a dream” to go to New York turned into a life-changing experience for Koen McKenzie. In 2019 Koen participated in the Cerebral Palsy Society event Voices of our Children alongside other members. At 11 years old, he told the camera that he always wanted to be an actor. Now at 17 years old, he has had an opportunity to make that dream a reality. The Ōmokoroa student travelled solo to the Big Apple in June to take part in the Teen Advanced Acting Program at the New York School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA). He successfully applied for Momenta’s inaugural Live the Life You Love Award – a $10,000 grant created to support disabled people across the Bay of Plenty to pursue bold personal goals. Koen says after being successful he realised the dream was going to be a great opportunity to learn from experienced teachers and progress his acting career. Over the years, Koen’s had lead roles in school productions, directed children’s theatre, attended the National Youth Drama School three years in a row, been a finalist in the Tauranga Performing Arts Competition, and enrolled in Trinity Musical Theatre and Speech and Drama exams. The three-week course in New York covered advanced acting, audition training, voice work and included real set experience. They also produced films and for Koen, an actor who has only ever performed on stage, this was a new experience. “There is sound, there’s camera, there’s people doing the slate. There’s all this stuff happening around you. We had an hour and a half to two hours to shoot [short films], meanwhile