Riley Schillaci (born December 22, 1982) is an American

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, specializing in

sword swallowing Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, bu ...

as one of few professional female sword swallowers in the world.

Early life and inception of career

Riley Schillaci was born on December 22, 1982, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

. In her childhood, she observed a relative who swallowed forks and knives and stuck licorice up his nose, only to have it reemerge through his mouth. At around 14, Schillaci decided to try swallowing objects because she believed the talent was genetic. She moved on to swallowing drum sticks and glow sticks, and by post-college she swallowed swords. She swallowed her first sword () in a sword store. Her second sword () was ordered by mail. Her parents held it while she "eased up into it ... 'until it just barely hit the bottom of my stomach'". She cut off the protruding part, making the sword . Although her parents wanted her to be a singer, they supported her as a sword swallower by attending some of her performances.

Career

Performance

Schillaci was a featured season 6 contestant on '' America's Got Talent'' but was rejected by the judges because she did not smile enough. One of fewer than 20 female sword swallowers in the world, she worked with '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and is a member of the Sword Swallowers Association International. She uses

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

to disinfect her sword before swallowing it. Schillaci said that her throat becomes faintly sore after sword swallowing a few times per week. Besides sword swallowing, her acts include fire eating, fire breathing, human blockhead, human pincushion, and bed of nails. She calls her overall act "Odd Girl".

Other

Having earned a degree in sociology and health science, Schillaci has worked in factories,

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

, child care, web development, and in administration. Her hobbies include writing and playing music.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schillaci, Riley 1982 births American stunt performers America's Got Talent contestants Living people Artists from Rochester, New York Ripley's Believe It or Not! Sideshow performers Sword swallowers