Alum Christian Cagigal's 'Obscura': Magic and Theatre

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- Christian Cagigal, a storytelling magician whose sly charm and soothing voice can be hypnotic in a quietly creepy way, prefers not to reveal the overarching narrative of “Obscura,” the intimate evening of theater and magic he performs October 15 – Novembe 2 at the Aurora Theatre. But he can describe it in general terms. “I do close-up magic with playing cards, tarot cards and old photographs while telling stories about death, war and the devil,” says Cagigal, on the horn from his Colma home. The show is light and humorous, he adds, “but it has its darker moments .... My style is kind of naturally suited to Halloween.” A San Francisco State theatre alumnus and former member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Cagigal has been creating and producing his own shows for a decade, many at San Francisco’s Exit Theatre, where he has worked as an artist in residence since 2006. That’s where he performed the original incarnation of “Obscura,” which he did l