WHEN 16-year-old Maggie Wong Ho-wan caught a colourful ball from a clown at Ocean Park one summer, something beckoned.
'I suddenly had the desire to become a clown. I am never chosen for lead characters at school because of my dark skin. But as a clown, if you are willing to learn, you can be somebody new every day,' said the jolly Form Five student.
Maggie made it happen - she was selected to join Ocean Park's Clown College among 20 older candidates and is now in training.
'By the end of this month, we should be able to juggle rings, balls and clubs, spin plastic plates, perform magic, do gags (funny acts), make animal balloons, do comic body movements and make music with a 'kazoo',' said the budding clown as she started blowing heavy 'doo-doo-doo' notes out of a tiny strange gadget.
The most basic technique is making one's own comic mask.
'It draws people closer together,' said Kee Au Yeung Wing-kee, 21. 'Once I've put my make-up on, nobody knows who I am and the paint helps release my true self.' There are three types of comic make-up, according to Wing-kee. 'White face' requires a white that covers the whole face before other colours are added. 'August' is a painted face and 'Character' expresses different roles - a rat, a cat or a policeman.