Au Young Keen Kiew, a 49-year-old Ipohite, decided to make his second vaccination jab a memorable experience when he wore a ‘Sun WuKong’ (The Monkey King) suit to the vaccination centre yesterday (August 17).
Sun WuKong is one of the main characters in the popular mythical novel, ‘Journey to the West’.
It has been almost two bumpy years since the pandemic hit. However, full of spirit, Au Young believes everyone has the power to make others happy. “I felt overjoyed when I heard laughter across the room. All the way from the entrance till the exit!” he exclaimed.
Indeed, all the others present had a laughing good time when he showed up in that adorable costume.
Au Young’s job is to entertain people by literally making them laugh—he is a professional clown! Known as Au Young de Clown to the community, he has been an entertainer for the past 15 years. You may have come across him dressed in outlandish costumes with paint covering his face at the amusement park or circus.
It is not just about dressing like the character, one also has to shoulder the mantle of expertise. “Acting is very important for every character. Once I put on the suit, I have to act like them. The stick WuKong carries, was to make sure there’s social distancing between the audience and me,” he explained.
“Like every other job, you have to study the job. I learn about the characters on Youtube and I have a few favourites like Charlie Chaplin, God of Prosperity and clowns,” he highlighted.
Wearing the costume under scorching weather had him soaked with sweat but his heart was full. “Seeing them happy makes me happy and the positive energy is like an encouragement to me, too.
“I’m counting down the days where I can perform on stage again. Hence, to fulfill the yearning, I had planned to perform for the public with the frontliners as my target audience,” he said.
“I was very hesitant in the beginning because I didn’t want people to think that I’m trying to blow my own trumpet. Thankfully, most of my friends on FB insisted that I should go ahead with it.
“I would like to do my part to contribute to society,” Au Young said.
Check out his video here!
Gisele Soo
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