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SCMP Reporter

CLOWNING, apparently, is more than just putting on a colourful costume and a big red nose.

  It is more than falling over and making noises, too.

  ''You have to learn to juggle, slap people around, trip [over] and mime. Clowning is a stage performance which requires training,'' said Darrell Metzger, executive director of Ocean Park.

  ''Even applying the make-up is an art which needs to be learned.

  ''And [the make-up] becomes more difficult to wear in a hot climate.''   So, the 24 students who enrolled in Wayne the Clown's class at Ocean Park have had their work cut out for them.

  Some of them had attended the first clown college conducted last summer and, therefore, were attending advanced classes.

   Others were first timers, yet all passed with flying colours.

  ''Most of them are young university students,'' said Mr Metzger.

  ''After training last year, they worked with us during the summer, at weekends and on public holidays in winter.

  ''By the end of their time, having performed most days throughout the summer, they were confident and practised performers.''   Many of them aspire to break into the entertainment business and clowning around is one way of doing it.

  ''In the United States, it is recognised as valuable experience for people in the entertainment industry,'' said Mr Metzger.

  ''We hope to encourage a similar attitude in this region.''   About 30 hopefuls turned up for auditions. Mr Metzger said that those who applied already had the right attitude and, they discovered, the ability.

  They were paid during their training period.

  ''Wayne the Clown, who hails from Florida, and his partner, Phil, taught those in the advanced class to walk on stilts. Meanwhile, beginners practised the finer art of juggling and falling over.

  ''Another great gimmick, and one which even I was able to learn, was how to make balloon animals,'' said Mr Metzger.

  ''Give a dog made of balloons to a child and you have him won over.''   But it was not all play and no work.

  After attending classes for five days a week for one month, the graduates set out to tackle the hardest audience of all - children.

  ''Unlike Mickey Mouse or other theme characters, a clown is not readily identifiable and must work up a rapport with children,'' said Mr Metzger.

  When the children do pluck up the courage to approach the clowns, they will be entertained with a show which, while it seems completely natural, has been thoroughly rehearsed right down to the last slap.

  Clowns and the German ''Oompah'' brass band will form part of the ''atmosphere'' entertainment, as they move around the park performing wherever crowds gather.



Serious side of clowning around