I enjoy this trick. I don't have to do a lot in it, it's not as arduous as some of the tricks and I get to wear a pretty costume, well, start out in a pretty costume.
I start out in the wings watching The Great Pedro, or Pete as he really is motioning magically at things, choosing audience members to help and looking as impressive as he can. On my cue I strut onto the stage on my tip toes, do a few pirouettes and jumps and stand next to Pete still balanced on my toes. I'm dressed as a ballerina, my hair is pinned up, I have a pale pink frilly tutu, a silky pink top that's cut lower than most ballet outfits and has a hole exposing my stomach and navel,a pink silk g-string and of course my ballet shoes.
Pete takes my hand and leads me to the platform in the centre of the stage where he instructs the audience members who've volunteered to help on what they have to do. I sit on the edge of the platform and they start placing the collar and cuffs on me. This always excites me a little, having strange men placing cold steel on my body. The volunteers click the steel cuffs around my wrists and ankles, check they're secure and keep the keys, finally they lock the steel collar around my neck and check it's secure too. It is, the only way it would come off without magic is with the keys or a cutting torch. Pete then hands one of the a magic marker and invites them both to sign my stomach, which they eagerly do.
I strut around some more and strike some ballet poses as Pete explains the trick, he shows a glass bottle about two feet high with a narrow neck, places it on the platform, puts a large funnel in the top and places a black tube over the bottle, obscuring it.
I return to Pete and the volunteers and strike an arabesque pose, this is the hardest bit, holding the pose, when we first practised this I would fall over a lot! Pete produces a large padlock and with the volunteers, places it through the rings on my leg cuff and wrists so I'm held in the pose. Before closing the padlock he pulls my leg and arms down to the back of my neck and threads the padlock through the ring on the back of my collar. A volunteer clicks it closed and pulls out the key as Pete supports me.
Pete then turns me and lays me down on the stage so I'm lying on my stomach looking at the audience. Now I usually release my grip on my ankle and wiggle my hands and foot to show I'm held fast and can't escape. I bend my other leg so that my foot is pointing upwards, this is just so the audience can see what happens next.
Meanwhile the stage hand is lowering the winch and Pete clips the rope onto the cuff on my free leg. The winch winds in an I'm lifted up into the air, Pete supports me as I go up so I don't get dragged along the stage. As I rise I'm slowly rotating, performing an inverted pirouette in the air. As I spin Pete and a volunteer pull the platform containing the bottle and funnel forwards so it's below me.
And now the magic begins, I'm slowly lowered into the funnel, disappearing into it, when only my calf and foot remains visible Pete un-clips the rope from my ankle and it withdraws. He lifts the funnel off over my foot and whips off the tube covering the bottle. The audience can now see me in the bottle, it's barely big enough to hold me and I'm really packed into it. My pelvis is resting on the bottom, breasts pressed against the front, my face pressing against the curve at the top, with my legs bent back. My one leg and wrists are still locked to the back of my collar my other leg extended out of the neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is just slightly larger than my calf, it's obvious to the audience that it would be impossible for me to squeeze through the neck, especially in the position I'm secured in.
I wiggle my free foot and the audience applaud. Pete then places the covering back over the bottle and starts to push down on my foot, it disappears into the bottle too. When Pete removes the cover again the audience can see I'm now completely inside the bottle, my free foot is now also secured behind my neck. I'm effectively locked into a tight back bend inside the bottle. I do a mock struggle and the volunteers reach inside to check I'm still secured and it's really me!
Next Pete covers the bottle again and makes a big show of reaching inside, when he pulls his hand out he's holding my ballet shoes which he hands to a volunteer. When he removes the cover again I wiggle my now bare feet, usually Pete then encourages the volunteers to reach in and tickle my feet. I squirm helplessly about and giggle, my feet really are ticklish.
Again Pete covers the bottle and reaches in, this time his hand comes out holding my tutu dress, when he reveals me I'm wearing just my top and g-string. The audience start getting more enthusiastic now, realising where this is going.
Next my top is removed, when the cover is removed the audience can see my naked breasts pressing against the glass, my flattened nipples are obvious against my pale breasts. Pete covers me and reaches in one more time and he has my g-string. When he reveals me again he turns the bottle so the audience can see I'm completely naked and still secured in a back bend.
The audience are very appreciative of my nakedness, but Pete asks if they'd like a better view. Of course there's shouts of “Yes!”. Pete covers me again and reaches into the bottle. There's the clanking of metal on metal and he pulls out the big padlock and reveals me again. This time I'm secured in a human pretzel pose, my legs are crossed behind my neck, the rings on my ankle cuffs and collar are all linked, my arms pass in front of my thighs and my wrists cuffs are linked behind my back. The effect of this is that my breasts and shaved pussy are completely visible to the audience.
Pete invites the volunteers to check that their signatures are still on my stomach, which they of course are but it gives the guys a chance to stare at me more closely. He also to tells them to check I'm still real, so they reach into the bottle and invariably fondle my breasts.
We're not quite finished though, Pete gives a bit of flannel about what goes in bottles and produces a glass of water from inside his jacket. He covers me again and tips the water into the bottle. When he reveals me again the bottle is completely full of water, I'm still a pretzel inside, bobbing about slightly. The neck of the bottle and my position mean my head is completely under the water. I smile and wiggle a little to show I'm still alive.
Pete produces a bag of goldfish from his jacket and tips them into the bottle, they start swimming about and I playfully try to catch them in my mouth as they swim past. I've been underwater for over a minute now and the audience are probably wondering how long I can hold my breath and how I'm going to be released. Pete produces a large cork and a mallet from his jacket and with the help of the volunteers places it into the neck of the bottle and hammers it in.
The bottle is now completely sealed and I'm still submerged. If the audience really thought about it they'd know there was no way I could have got out through the neck of the bottle anyway but putting the cork in is the final touch to show I'm stuck in there.
And that's how I stay. Pete and one of the volunteers carry me down into the audience and put me on the bar. For the next hour or so, Pete sits there enjoying his free drinks, chatting to the public whilst the fish and I float about in our bottle. People come up and tap on the glass and try to talk to me, sometimes I can hear what they're saying and give a nod or shake of the head, usually I just wriggle a bit which they find amusing.
They all have their theories about how the trick is done and how I stay underwater for so long. None of them ever realise that it's not a trick, it's magic.