Magic Tricks

"Showoff with CDs" DVD by Eddy Ray
Suggested Retail USD.00
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10


Eddy Ray has broken new ground and the result is a goldmine for stage manipulators or those wanting to be.

Magic, to me, becomes elevated when objects normal people have laying around their normal dwellings in their normal lives. I've often wondered why CDs, the ubiquitous shiny platters of the Digital Age, haven't been utilized more in magic (other then the token routines in the dealer's catalogs and the dabblings I've done with them). What I didn't know was that Eddy Ray was working on just that thing, and working on it brilliantly.

"Showoff with CDs" (a demo video is available on Ray's website) is Eddy Ray's work with discs, and it's almost encyclopedic in what it covers. The basics are here (with an accent on subtle changes in the Tenkai Palm specifically for CDs), but also the more advanced stuff like multiple productions and vanishes. Ray even goes into some clever gimmicks using BA that result in absolutely beautiful, striking effects. All told, there are almost three dozen handlings and bits of business packed onto this disc which are more than enough to be put together to form a cohesive -- and quite different -- stage manipulation act.

That last is important. CD manipulation is relatively new. There's very little out there to learn, and still less that allow you to put together your own act. "Showoff with CDs" has such a wide variety of vanishes (from simple "toss away" vanishes of a single CD to the vanish of a fan of CDs), productions (at the fingertips, a full fan, and even "split" productions), and transformations (balls and silver confetti turn to CDs, CDs change color, and even grow from "mini" to "regular"), that assembling just the pieces on this disc can result in a gorgeous and different routine. That's beautiful in its own right. There really is no need to go searching for more things to learn when the things Ray teaches are enough to get you going.

And Ray does a phenomenal job of teaching each of those things. Everything on "Showoff with CDs" is taught in loving detail to make sure you get the handling down perfectly and as quickly as possible. As with any manipulation act, there are pieces you'll pick up quickly and other pieces you'll struggle with, but in the end, Ray's efforts as an instructor will make even the hardest parts easier for you to learn. Further, the production values of this disc are fairly high -- lighting, sound, and authoring are all first-rate -- which just makes Ray's explanations that much more worthwhile.

Now, a caveat of sorts. I've mentioned a few times that this is for stage manipulators; that's not strictly true. There are a couple of pieces which apply to close-up work (or could, at any rate), things Ray put together strictly for mini-CDs. However, the vast majority of material here is for those working stage and platform and really is of the most benefit for those performs looking for something new and different and eye-catching while standing under spotlights.

New, different, eye-catching... there's the sum total of Eddy Ray's "Showoff with CDs". For my money, you can throw in "magical" and "creative" and "treasure", too.

Shane - Online Visions.