Glass Ceiling Arts Collective is a performing Arts charity which supports disabled people and their families, throughout New Zealand. Our point of difference is our approach to inclusion: we encourage disabled people to attend our classes alongside their non-disabled friends and siblings.
For many years now, we have enjoyed tremendous support from The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation; whenever our North Shore youth class present their annual show. In July 2024, the class presented The Spongebob Musical.
For many of the adults, who did not grow up with the children’s cartoon series Spongebob Squarepants, The Spongebob Musical was an unexpected delight. The colourful set is quite stunning and the story is endearing.
Our North Shore class has been running for 5 years now, and it was exciting to see how the families involved have developed into a supportive community. The production became a family affair with parents helping with costumes, props, set construction and front-of-house. This is important because the opportunity for social connection can be rare for some parents who have a disabled child, given the huge amount of care some children require.
The biggest highlight of Spongebob for the Glass Ceiling team was to witness the phenomenal talent of all our young performers and a few key disabled performers, in particular. Every time we produce a show, there will be one or two disabled youngsters for whom it is their first ever opportunity to shine in a leading role. It’s always interesting to reflect upon the development of the individual over the last few years.
For instance, the young Autistic girl who played the lead role of Spongebob has, for the last 5 years, identified as part dinosaur and in her early years was non-speaking. In her own time though she settled in and with The Spongebob Musical she stood out in the character of Spongebob.
The lead role of Spongebob was shared by two performers with each doing two performances. The other Spongebob was in Starship hospital in April facing the trauma of yet another major operation when she learned that she had been cast as Spongebob. According to her Mum, the news was transformational and helped her with her recovery.
These instances do not live in isolation. We could also talk about the young boy with Downs Syndrome whose amazing performance on stage left his mother sobbing with pride, the boy with Cerebral Palsy who so confidently delivered in the role of Mayor of Bikini Bottom, and the chronically shy and anxious child who was encouraged and supported to take on their role and achieve more than they ever believed possible.
Glass Ceiling Arts Collective is an Arts organisation which is rapidly developing into a national community of engaged whanau who each want to see a new ‘normal’: a normal which includes both people with and without Disabilities. We are very grateful to the trustees of The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation, for their critical role in support of our community.
The Spongebob Musical – July 2024
Photos by Kate Little Photography
