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The Effect

What they say:

On this DVD Chris Capehart performs his Street Coin Routine that features The Miser’s Dream aling with Coins Across, Continuous Coins, One in the Hand and Two in the Pocket and The Total Vanish.

Chris Capehart is one of my absolute favorite magicians! He’s funny, fast and fearless. The moment he steps out onto the stage, he owns it, and stays in command every moment until he leaves them laughing in his wake. For audiences small and large, young and old, his results are the same, and his impact immeasurable – Jamy Ian Swiss.

I have seen Chris perform The Miser’s Dream at every venue you could think of. It has never failed to amaze and delight the audience – Bob Little (Convention Producer).

I have watched Chris do his Miser’s Dream and other coin work for our audiences for the last four years. This routine always gets them going. It is definitely a guaranteed winner – Michael Chaut (Monday Night Magic – New York Producer).

Cost

£16.99 from Make Danata – www.mikedanatasmagicstudio.co.uk
Free postage within the UK!

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

The Miser's Dream routine is a 1 (self working), this routine is all about presentation and timing.

The other coin routines that are included are no harder than a 2. All use basic coin sleights that should be in everyone's arsenal.

Review

I’ve been interested in The Miser’s Dream for a while as I have been expanding my repertoire to include more routines that are suitable for stage and cabaret. I nearly bought this DVD some months ago but changed my mind at the last minute in favour of a dancing cane and DVD. Anyway, I bought two Miser’s Dream Granted sets by Mikame Craft and remembering this DVD I added it to the cart.

Chris Capehart looks an interesting character judging from the photo on the DVD cover and turning the box over I then noted that this is another release by Kozmo Magic. That’s a big plus for me as I’m a fan of Kozmo’s DVD releases as everything of his that I’ve seen so far has been top notch.

The DVD begins, as do most with the performance of the routine. The audience is predominantly made up of children of about 10 years of age and younger as well as some adults. It’s clear to see that this routine works for all ages and is both highly entertaining and amusing to both the Children and adults alike. I sat watching with a big smile and an occasional laugh as this is just the sort of magic that I remember watching as I grew up and which sparked that flame of interest for me. A truly great routine and a great lesson in delivery from Chris.

Next, we move onto the explanation section. Chris says at the start that “Miser’s Dream has been around for years and years but today it is almost lost. Not too many people perform The Miser’s Dream these days but it’s a great routine”. I tend to agree with this comment and think that it’s a real shame as it is a very visual and entertaining routine.

The teaching begins with an overview of the bucket and coins used and Chris explains why cheaper is often the best for this routine. The coins and bucket will dent and scratch so it’s counter productive to spend too much and as long as you can get 12 coins snugly in your hand then you’re ready (although you can use a few more). The teaching is very good and Chris uses a transparent pitcher to demonstrate the his handling and timing. Add to this a number of ideas from Chris on how to perform Miser’s Dream for maximum effect and what you have is a simple to learn sure-fire winner.

Next is the teaching of the Coins Across routine and again, the teaching and cameras angles are very good indeed. All of the sleights are taught in detail but this routine is going to take far more practice that the Miser’s Dream as more sleights are involved. The amount of practice will be dependant on how good you are at palming coins and if you can palm three then you should get this down very quickly. If you can’t then this is where you will need to practice but it’s worth the time and effort as the Coins Across is a perfect to follow on routine to compliment The Miser’s Dram.

The Continuous Coin is taught next and it’s a simple yet very visual move if you get the timing right as are the One in the Hand, Two in the Pocket and the Total Vanish routines.


Overall

This is a great value DVD as not only do you get a great tutorial for The Miser’s Dream but in addition, you also get some basic coin magic routines to compliment the main routine. If you’re looking to add some basic, easy and quick to learn coin magic then look no further. It’s evident from this film that Chris is a very charismatic person and this transfers extremely well into his magic routine.

If you want to perform The Miser’s Dream then you need look no further than this DVD.

A deserved 10/10 for delivering what it says in a quality package.