THE PANDORA EXPERIMENT
2015
"Cagigal seems to be forever playing with and between the notions that all magic is imaginary, that it truly lives within our intuitive capabilities or that he’s making our imaginations the fertile fields of his illusions."
- Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle
2007-2008
“No mere illusionist...Cagigal is one of those rare alchemists of the imagination, so it’s the evocative musings on intuition, childhood toys, and wishes that joggle viewers’ senses and magically transport them into the realm of the extraordinary. The narrative complexity of Cagigal’s show is another proviso for all the magic. Each “trick” is connected to the others...Each mystery is bundled in the next like a series of Russian nesting dolls.”
- Nirmala Nataraj, SFStation
"Cagigal's feats of prestidigitation and mind reading - dastardly clever in conception and confoundingly smooth in execution - keep his audience riveted and actively engaged for two 45 minute acts."
- Robert Avila, San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Innovative”
- Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle
“For Christian Cagigal's [The Pandora Experiment], the audience is not so much a subject of clinical study, but an object of affection...Cagigal uses antique objects that are well-worn, simple and accessible; two music boxes with haunting chimes, small chests with the treasures of a child inside. A doll of porcelain and papier-mâché gazes soulfully throughout and feels as real as any of us. His performance takes the audience beyond just the willing suspension of disbelief and into another place in time where magic is not the work of an illusionist or performer but exists in creaky wooden boxes found in a grandparent's attic. The set and lighting underscore Cagigal's creation to create an ethereal beauty. His staging and sensitivity as he plays with his audience conveys a level of safety and trust so as to not feel duped, but included in the magic. What does The Pandora Experiment reveal? Above all else: imagination.”
- Nara Dahlbacka, SF Weekly
"Cagigal seems to be forever playing with and between the notions that all magic is imaginary, that it truly lives within our intuitive capabilities or that he’s making our imaginations the fertile fields of his illusions."
- Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle
2007-2008
“No mere illusionist...Cagigal is one of those rare alchemists of the imagination, so it’s the evocative musings on intuition, childhood toys, and wishes that joggle viewers’ senses and magically transport them into the realm of the extraordinary. The narrative complexity of Cagigal’s show is another proviso for all the magic. Each “trick” is connected to the others...Each mystery is bundled in the next like a series of Russian nesting dolls.”
- Nirmala Nataraj, SFStation
"Cagigal's feats of prestidigitation and mind reading - dastardly clever in conception and confoundingly smooth in execution - keep his audience riveted and actively engaged for two 45 minute acts."
- Robert Avila, San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Innovative”
- Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle
“For Christian Cagigal's [The Pandora Experiment], the audience is not so much a subject of clinical study, but an object of affection...Cagigal uses antique objects that are well-worn, simple and accessible; two music boxes with haunting chimes, small chests with the treasures of a child inside. A doll of porcelain and papier-mâché gazes soulfully throughout and feels as real as any of us. His performance takes the audience beyond just the willing suspension of disbelief and into another place in time where magic is not the work of an illusionist or performer but exists in creaky wooden boxes found in a grandparent's attic. The set and lighting underscore Cagigal's creation to create an ethereal beauty. His staging and sensitivity as he plays with his audience conveys a level of safety and trust so as to not feel duped, but included in the magic. What does The Pandora Experiment reveal? Above all else: imagination.”
- Nara Dahlbacka, SF Weekly
