Tubin'

"Hitomi? Are you ready for the next illusion?" The Magician looked hopeful as he called off stage. "The last one ran, um, under time."

A woman's voice, lightly accented, called back, "Sorry boss, no- still getting prepped."

"Oh dear, now I guess I've got to fill some time." The Magician stepped to the side of the stage, and pulled out a low table, on which sat a large, opaque vase, roughly half his height, with a body about 16" at its widest, and a very skinny neck that flared outwards at the top. "Well, I had intended to have my volunteer put this vase into that puzzle box, but, unfortunately, I'm now short both a box, and a volunteer. And an illusion, of course. But I can probably remedy at least one of those now, and, well, we'll see if we can improvise from there." He looked into the audience, and pointed, "You, young lady, would you like to be my volunteer? ... Yes, you! There's only one young lady I'm pointing at right now." He stepped down and helped her stand, then helped her on stage, asking her name as he did so.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a big hand for my brave volunteer, Ashley." The young woman was about 5'3" and slender, with small breasts and ample hips beneath a knee length, denim skirt. Her curly, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She blushed at the applauds.

The Magician led her to the vase. "Ashley, could you please get inside this vase for me?"

Ashley's eyes widened in disbelief, but she pushed off one shoe with her other, and stepped up onto the low table, then put her stockinged foot against the mouth of the vase. She shook her head, "No, I can't- just my toes."

The Magician smiled. "Thank you, Ashley. The hole's just a little over two inches wide, so of course you can't. But it was bold of you to try!" Laughter from the audience. "Sorry, I was just filling some time by teasing; I've got something else in mind." He pulled the vase off the table and set it to the side of the stage. "Here, help me pull this table center stage."

"Now, Ashley, if you could take a step up?" he said, once they had walked around and moved the table, showing it had no mirrors or trap doors. "Ladies and gentlemen, a girl on a table!" There were some applauds. "Ashley, help me out, I'm improvising here!"

Ashley slightly bent one knee and raised her left hand over her head, and, said, loudly, "Ta da!" She smiled as the applauds grew louder.

"That's good- keep them entertained for a minute!" The Magician dashed off stage. Ashley stood, looking at the audience and smiling awkwardly. She let her hand drop, and turned to look offstage where the Magician had gone. "Oops!" he said, loudly. There was a shriek and a crash. Ashley winced. The lid of a pot rolled on stage, and, slowly, spun around in smaller and smaller circles, then stopped and fell flat. Ashley looked back at the audience and raised her hand again. "Ta da!" Laughter and applauds.

"Sorry about that, Hitomi. I didn't realize you were standing there. I'll let you fix that and finish getting ready." The Magician strode back on stage as Ashley lowered her hand. "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, looks like I'll have to improvise a bit longer." He was carrying a low step ladder, and had one end of a large diameter cardboard tube under his other arm. A stagehand carried the other end; it looked to be about seven feet long. "Let's see here..." He set the ladder beside the table, stepped up, and lifted the tube, placing it over Ashley and letting it drop till it rested on the table.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a girl on a table, in a tube!"

Ashley stuck her hand out the top, and yelled an echoey "Ta da!" Laughter and applauds.

"That's great, Ashley, you're a natural at this." The Magician picked up the tube and removed it. "Ladies and gentlemen, once again, a girl on a table!"

The volunteer raised her hand, and said, once again, "Ta da!" More laughter and applauds.

The Magician stage-whispered, "Keep it up, Ashley, I bet we can milk this for at least fifteen more minutes!" Some chuckles from the audience, and Ashley smiled and raised her hand again.
"Ta da!"

While the audience applauded, the Magician pulled out a packing knife and quickly cut a hole in the 18" diameter tube. He stepped up the ladder, and slid it over the girl's head again. The hole lined up with her face, so she smiled and pushed her face through.

The Magician bowed, "Proof that the girl is still on the table, in the tube!" Ashley raised her hand and Ta da'ed again.

"Very good, Ashley- keep your hand up, if you would?" She nodded. The Magician motioned off stage, and a second tube was rolled in, letting the audience see it was completely empty inside. The Magician hopped down and cut a hole in the new tube. "These are actually concrete forms; cheap and lightweight cardboard, used to mold pillars, and common in construction." He picked up the second tube and climbed the ladder. "They have one additional feature-" He slid the tube inside of the first one, letting it sink down until the holes lined up. Ashley looked out and smiled, waving her hand from out of the top of both. "They nest together very well. This new tube has a 16" inside diameter. And a girl inside its 16" diameter, too. On a table."

"Ta da!" Chuckles and applauds. A third tube rolled out onto the stage. The Magician pulled the first one up and away, leaving the 16" tube, and Ashley, smiling and waving on the table. He rolled the 18" tube off the other side, and quickly cut a hole in the new tube. He paused a moment, then pulled out a pen, and wrote 14 on the side, below the hole. He picked it up, climbed the ladder, and slid it inside the 16" tube.

Ashley peered out from behind both holes. "Ta da!" she waved, her hand visible from the top. The audience applauded.

Another tube was rolled out, as the Magician removed the outer tube and rolled it off stage, leaving Ashley peering out of 14. He cut out another hole, and labeled the new tube 12 before sliding it inside 14. This hole was a bit smaller- Ashley couldn't stick her head through anymore, but her face was still visible, and she smiled broadly, still waving. "Ta da!"

The Magician removed tube 14 as the next one rolled out. He labeled it 10 and cut a slot, then slid it down inside the 12 tube. Ashley peered out and blinked her eyes, the only part of her face still visible. "Ta da?" She waved, regardless. The Magician pulled off the 12 tube and Ashley peered over at him.

"I'm afraid I can't make the hole any bigger, or it would soon be as big as the tube itself. Wave bye, Ashley- you won't be seeing the audience from the tube anymore, but don't worry, the rest will go quicker."

The girl waved, and managed a "Bye, everyone!" from within the tube as several more rolled on stage. The Magician quickly labelled them and stood them up, then dropped the 8 tube inside the larger one, covering Ashley's eyes. Her hand remained above the top, and she waved, and said a muffled, "Ta da!"

The Magician stepped up, yanked off the 10 tube, cast it aside and grabbed the 6, sliding it quickly inside. "Ta da!"

He repeated the process, this time sliding in the 4 tube. "Ta da!" He pulled off the 6 tube, leaving Ashley and the narrow tube behind.

Finally, he picked up the last tube- the 2 tube, and slid it down over Ashley's hand, and nested it fully inside the 4. "Wait a moment..." He yanked off the 4 tube. On the table sat the 2" diameter tube, Ashley's hand somehow still sticking out the top and waving. "Ladies and gentlemen, Ashley on a table, in a tube!"

From within the tube, a muffled but audible "Ta da!" The applauds were thunderous, and the Magician bowed.

"Lest you think I've fudged the numbers somewhat," he spoke, walking over to the vase. "We happen to have something with just a 2" opening." He picked up the vase, showed the tiny hole in the neck, and walked back to the low table, setting the vase down in front of the ladder. The Magician climbed the ladder, and grasped Ashley's hand, then tilted and lifted the tube. Ashley's stockinged toes slipped out of the bottom, and she wiggled them. Still holding her hand, the Magician lowered the tube into the vase to prove the diameter of the space the girl was inside.

He lifted the tube a bit, leaving the end still in the vase. "Ashley, could you please get inside this vase for me?" He let go, and her hand slid down inside the tube. He pulled the tube up, and out of the vase. The audience applauded and the hand sticking out of the vase's the narrow neck waved, and from within, they heard "Ta da!" The Magician showed the vase from all sides, tilting it up so the audience could see she really was inside.

"That opening is just large enough for her wrist, so she can't pull her hand in... and can't push her arm out, either." The girl inside wiggled her forearm and hand to prove his point. "Now the puzzle- how shall we get her out?"

From the side of the stage, Hitomi called, "Okay, I'm ready!"

The Magician stood up, and rolled the vase to one side of the stage. "Finally, no further need to improvise. Ladies and gentlemen, I bet Ashley would like to see this next illusion, don't you think?" He pulled out the knife, and pulled it up the side of the vase, then peeled back the opaque plastic cover to reveal transparent glass beneath. Inside, the view slightly distorted by the curve of the glass, his volunteer was clearly visible. The Magician quickly spun the vase around once more, showing her tightly curled up body pressed against the sides of the vase all around.

Ashley peered out from under her right elbow and smiled, waving her other hand. The stunned audience applauded even louder. "Ta da!"

The Magician bowed, then turned the vase around so his rather contorted volunteer could watch the rest of the show...