Vice: How was it growing up with a mom who’s a clown?

Oopsy da Clown: It was awesome. She also did other characters, and it was great to have your mom come home dressed like Barbie or Barney. Sometimes she’d do a little private performance for me. I felt special.

When did you begin to follow in her clown shoes?

I decided to do it a little while ago. I’m a teenager and you second-guess whether or not it’s the coolest thing in the world. But seeing her perform is inspiring. She recently needed some help at a party so I dressed up and came along. It was fun and I’ve just stuck with it. Plus I needed something to do during the summer and the money is pretty good.

Sounds like it’s a good fit for your personality.

Yeah. I guess you could say I’m an odd person. I have pink hair and piercings. When people look at me on the street they stare, but when I’m a clown no one knows who I really am. It’s really great to see everyone smile at you. It’s like an alter ego.

How did you come up with your name and character?

Well, I got the costume and I got the wig and everything. Then I had to decide what kind of makeup I wanted to do and what her personality should be like. Once I got into the character I started messing around with voices and it eventually became a girly thing. We started coming up with cute names like Curly because of my frizzy wig. Then my mom came up with Smooksy, but I thought that sounded strange and wanted it to be cuter. Oopsy just popped into my head because, you know, a ditzy girl will drop things and act like a klutz and make stupid mistakes that are funny.

What do your friends say about this clown business?

A lot of them just laugh. They don’t make fun of me or anything. They actually think it’s pretty cool. They say stuff like, “I could never do that.”

Do guys at school know you’re a clown?

That’s really funny because I go to an art school and there are hardly any guys there. I think guys find it weird because someone they’re attracted to does something that’s strange to them. They usually give an awkward laugh. This one boy came up to me when I was in my costume and asked me out. I was like, “What?” and he was like, “I know you’re really hot under there.” When guys see a girl clown I guess they wonder what they look like underneath. Another guy came up to me and asked if I was Jewish. I said, “Why? Is it the curls?” He was Jewish so I think it was a flirty thing.

Has anything really creepy happened to you on the job?

One time I was in costume out on the ferry front. These older men came up to me and started flirting. You don’t know what to do because you’re dressed as a clown. One of them said something like, “What if I was a clown too?” And there was this really old guy who came up to me at some event and said, “How about we rub our noses together?” That was kind of weird.

Have you ever gone somewhere after a show and forgot you were in costume?

I have. One time I went to a restaurant and took my wig off before we went inside, but I forgot I still had paint on my face. Everyone was looking at me and smiling, and I’m thinking, “Why are they all staring at me? Oh that’s right, I’m wearing makeup.” The flip side is you get so used to being in character that when you take everything off you have to remember not to go around smiling at everyone because they’ll think you’re nuts.

Your mom said you were an artist. What are you into?

Right now I really like comic books so I draw stuff like that a lot. I’m also into tattoos. As an art student I do a range of things in school—painting, drawing, all of it. The funny thing is that it makes face painting harder. You want to be creative and put your own style into it, but you just don’t have time for that. It has to be a pretty simple version of what they ask for.

Do you have other hobbies?

Yeah, I skateboard. I actually skateboarded in a clown costume recently. It was at the grand opening of an IKEA. I had been working at the ferry spot all day and out of nowhere these kids came along with skateboards. I asked one of them for his skateboard and ended up popping an ollie. They thought that was pretty cool. I also play guitar.

Really? What sort of music are you into?

I like old punk, underground punk, and New York hardcore. It’s probably nothing you’ve ever heard of except for, like, the Ramones.

Try me.

I like the Germs. The Subhumans are good. Agnostic Front is OK. Oi Polloi is another. There’s a really good band from Philadelphia called Witch Hunt.

So you’re a clown who listens to Agnostic Front.

Yeah, I go to shows even though it clashes with my work as a clown. It can be a big dilemma sometimes. This weekend there’s a Circle Jerks show. I’m into all of that good stuff.

How long do you see yourself doing this?

I don’t know. I don’t feel like stopping anytime soon. It gets tiring and a lot of work is during the weekends, but it’s not something where you’ll be like, “Oh I don’t want to go in today.” The only time I’ve felt anything like that is when I’ve been really tired. It’s not something that drives you away. You don’t mind doing it if you are really into it.


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