Otis The King, parts 1535 - 1538

1535. Otis was the Vonnegut type. Having rewritten the Fish Pie skit he longed to create some other work. The adulation of the crowd was certainly an impetus to him but he would have done it anyway, that was the sort of wolf he was, insatiably creative.

1536. And keep in mind that the skits Otis was about to write for his comedian employees he would never get credit for. All of the credit will be given to the clowns he was assisting. And what about his acting abilities? What about his sense of timing and his ability to know when is the right moment to pause, draw back and roll his eyes up to the heavens? What about his knowing how long to hold the pose, before a contrary movement a split second later?

1537. No! Otis will not be given credit even for his acting abilities, because all of the praise and all of the adulation will go to the three comedians. It will be assumed that Otis is insensibly doing what he was trained to do. That Otis knows exactly what he is doing does not enter into the minds of the audience or the other actors. But it doesn't matter. Otis feels no resentment if others get the credit. A king is a king, no matter what the clothing.

1538. The next skit he set his mind to re-writing was one titled, “The cockfight.” This skit was more of a puppet show than a pantomime. Two chickens fight each other to the death while the three comedians watch the fight and cheer for their favorite. Actual chickens were not involved. The fight is carried out by two puppets that looked rather like the heads of two old brooms that had been used to sweep out hen houses, which is what they were.