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Ocean Park will mark its 15th Halloween celebration with the largest all-day-and-night Halloween event ever in Asia to offer guests new levels of fright and fun. The Park is recruiting over 2,000 talents, including 1,200 Halloween performers, 400 backstage crew members, and more than 600 frontline and logistical staff to join the team. The first recruitment drive will be held on 21 June at Plaza Hollywood. This year’s positions pay up to HK$145 an hour, while other positions in the performing team pay up to over HK$40,000 a month at the top end of the scale. The Park has also invited professional actors and seasoned Halloween performers to provide training for the new generation of ghosts and ghouls. Outstanding performance may lead to an opportunity to join the Park’s permanent staff.
Ms. Eva Au Yeung, Events & Entertainment Director of Ocean Park, said, “We have a team of talented souls to help present different new characters every year to give our guests a fresh fright. Entering into the 15th year, our Halloween celebration is going to be the biggest ever, and hence the number of staff to be recruited will also hit a record high. We welcome fresh blood and veterans with a passion for performing or stage management to join our team.”
Ms. Au Yeung added, “Even though the gender distribution among applicants was about evenly split in previous years, more female applicants were hired as they tended to be more audacious than guys. We hope to see more male applicants who can put on daring performances this year.”
Mr. Simon Lo, a seasoned television and theatre actor, is one of the Talent Managers this year and will teach Halloween performers how to get into character and interact with guests. Simon’s connection to Ocean Park started back in 1991, when he performed as a clown at the Park. Simon said, “I am very much grateful to Ocean Park for the opportunity to develop my potential and build a solid foundation for my subsequent acting career. Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest has always been the talk of the town and I look forward to working with other team members to inject new excitement into our 15th Halloween celebration, such as adding a street performance combining both Chinese and Western elements. As an actor, I am also eager to join other performers to surprise our guests!”
Over the years, Ocean Park’s Halloween event has seen countless talented performers turn into seasoned veterans. One such example is Ms. Gladys Hui, who joined in 2004 to perform at one of the haunted attractions and served as a roving performer in subsequent years. Since then, Gladys has risen through the ranks to become Performer Coach and more recently Talent Manager. “I have really grown up a lot at Ocean Park, starting from performing to assisting the overall planning and training of performers during Halloween Fest. The lessons learned at different positions have all contributed to my development as an actor. Participating in the Park’s Halloween event is an absolutely fantastic experience. When I first gradated, Ocean Park’s Halloween celebration presented a great opportunity for me to apply my training. And now, the event has become a personal rite that spans August to October every year. I really look forward to welcoming new blood with a passion for performance during this year’s Halloween Fest.”
Ms. Sandy Cheung, now a Costume Supervisor, joined Ocean Park in 2008 and has been responsible for designing costumes for performers during Halloween throughout the years. Sandy said, “I majored in International Fashion Business at university. Since I did not have any experience in fashion or costume design before joining Ocean Park, I was learning on-the-job. The Park has given me loads of valuable opportunities to learn and travel abroad to search for new ideas and inspirations. Over these years, I consistently have the most fun creating Halloween costumes for our chief executive Tom Mehrmann. Tom loves to dress up in an eye-catching costume and interact with guests. He is always eager to try out something new, allowing us to push our creativity to the limit. I have also learned to be in the performers’ shoes when designing the costumes. I will even try them on to ensure the performer would be comfortable and flexible whilst in costume.”
Other departments in Ocean Park are also hiring new staff to ensure quality service and maximise the excitement for guests during the busy Halloween period. Mr. Timothy Ng, Park Operations Director of Ocean Park, said, “Since Halloween Fest will draw a great number of fans, the Park will make specific guest management and staffing arrangements for several attractions and performance venues. The aim is to let our guests feel the full force of Halloween fun.”
Mr. Joseph Leung, Executive Director of Revenue of Ocean Park, said, “Our restaurant menus and retail products are injected with creative ideas and ‘spooky’ elements to bring guests a unique Halloween experience. Training will be offered to staff members to further enhance service quality.”
The recruitment audition will take place at Hollywood Plaza on 21 June (Sunday), with four department representatives from Ocean Park on hand to interview applicants (Candidates for performer positions can register on-site and interviews will be held at a later date). Candidates need to bring their CV and a recent photo for registration. Other recruitment events will be held at InnoCentre (performers only), Ocean Park (stunt performers only), the Labour Department’s Hong Kong East Job Centre (backstage, frontline and logistical positions only) and The Yard (dancers only). For more details about recruitment events and interviews, please visit http://halloween.oceanpark.com.hk/en/recruitment.html.
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