Clowning in Singapore not just for laughs

SINGAPORE — Clowning around is no laughing matter for 36-year-old Edmund Khong.

It is an art form, requires attention to detail and a commitment to the craft.

Khong’s dedication toward the clown profession earned him the top award at the recent US-based World Clown Association (WCA) convention in Bangkok in March. He beat 39 other clowns from around the world to clinch the All Around Clown award. He also placed first in two other categories: Character and Paradeability.

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Next up: Khong has his eye on being a Master Clown. He will need to win the All Around Clown award for a second consecutive year at the WCA to be awarded the title.

“Today, in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, the standards of clowns have really escalated and grew at a very fast rate. I would like to see the same happening in Singapore... The region is getting better, and the fact that Asia is winning a lot of medals at WCA competitions is a sign that the next big area that will grow in clowning is definitely Asia,” said Khong.

To date, he is the only Singaporean and second Asian to win the award, according to Mr Adran “Jelly” Revindren, 34, WCA Awards Director for 2016 and 2017. He called the victory over larger countries like Puerto Rico and America “good news” for a small country like Singapore.

The WCA has 2,248 members worldwide, with only 10 Singaporeans as members.

After Khong graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in History, he set off on a path to become a professional clown. That was in 2005.

Now, 12 years later, with his tools of the trade — a pair of oversized neon green boots, a polka-dotted shirt, paired with a loud red jumper, a monkey with giant, piercing blue irises and purple limbs — Khong has made a business out of it.

He runs a children’s entertainment company Star Dazzle Concepts with his wife, who handles financial and administrative matters of the company.

A typical “work week” for Khong begins on Tuesday, with his busiest days being Saturdays and Sundays due to the nature of the job.

On average, he does three events on a single day typically over weekends, often with no time to eat between jobs. A birthday party that begins at 10am requires him to be up about four hours earlier, as putting on clown makeup alone takes him about an hour.

Being a clown, Khong said, doesn’t come cheap. To keep up-to-date in his skills like puppetry, balloon sculpturing and comedy juggling, he spends about S$6,000 per year to attend clown conventions and camps overseas.

Props like hand puppets can go up to US$400 (S$560) each.

“My most expensive pair of clown shoes is S$1,000 (with shipping), because these are specially made for me by a US company. It’s the same company that makes shoes for clown celebrities like Ronald McDonald. All my costumes are designed in the US as well,” added Khong.

Unlike some clowns who are “happy to stick with one character”, Khong, who does a range of events from birthday parties to shopping malls shows, has three personas: Captain Dazzle, a magician-juggler; Captain Bubbles, a “full US-style” clown; and Professor Bananas, a ventriloquist safari explorer with a monkey puppet.

Khong hopes to help change the perception of clowns here, especially “in the wake of ‘fake clowns’ sightings in the US” and “the (upcoming) horror clown movie ‘IT’”.

He takes his craft so seriously he turns down requests from customers to dress up as a scary clown to prank others during Halloween.

He also added: “(If clown performers) don’t know how to put on makeup correctly, they tend to scare the children. I want to show Singapore — and the rest of the world, of course, that clowns can be very professional in their look and they do serve a very special place in the arts. We can (also) use clowning to do community work.”

Khong said he plans to clown as “long as he can”, and added that he is also currently designing introductory courses held at community centres for children to learn about the art of clowning.

“I love children and I love making them happy. They are very immediate in their responses to the performance; if they like a performance, they are going to cheer, they are going to laugh,” he said.

And for Khong, that is what matters most.