Professor displays magical talent for cancer research cause

Photo by Abby Bellow

 

Pulling a rabbit out of a hat, mind reading and sawing his wife in half are not unusual pastimes for Psychology and Family Studies Department Chair Ryan Newell.

Newell is hosting his annual magic show on Nov. 8 to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in honor of psychology professor Tina Winn.

“It’ll be a lot of mental magic, stuff with the mind, psychological magic,” Newell said. “A lot of what people would call mentalism: mind-reading kind of routines. I’m hoping to involve a lot of people from the audience; it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Senior David Myers said Newell takes on a new persona on the stage.

“Dr. Newell is a people person; he is really good about getting the audience involved,” Myers said. “It’s interesting because he kind of takes on a different personality when he is trying to entertain in his show as opposed to being a professor.”

Long before dedicating his energies to higher education in psychology, Newell became interested in magic.

“I was probably 10 years old,” Newell said. “My dad had always had an interest in magic and we went to Guntown Mountain in the Smoky Mountains… it’s a little amusement park… there’s a magic show there. The guy did a show, and I was kind of in awe and we went into this little shop afterwards and dad bought me a few tricks and that kind of triggered everything.”

Throughout his high school and college years, Newell had a show he did for friends and family. In college, he met his wife, who performed with him, and several of his college roommates became assistants. Together, the group staged several shows.

After he graduated college, however, Newell got out of magic. He did not start back until several students convinced him to perform again.

“They [the students] knew that I had had an interest in it, and actually what happened was they just kept badgering me,” Newell said. “‘Why don’t you do something? Why don’t you get back into it?’ I had always wanted to, just never had enough time.”

In previous shows, Newell had his wife assist him as she did in college.

“It was really fun to watch the interaction between him and his wife because we don’t get to see her ever,” senior Ashton Vanlandingham said.

Vanlandingham said the first time she saw the show it wasn’t what she expected.

“There were some really cool tricks,” Vanlandingham said. “ I was expecting it to be really cheesy, but it was pretty good; I was really impressed.”

Historically, the magic show has benefited the psychology department and Psych Club.

“Dr. Newell has been doing it for several years; he is a man of many talents,” Myers, president of Psych Club, said. “It has become… something to raise money for the club.”

However, this year, the club decided to give the money to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in honor of Winn due to her recent breast cancer diagnosis.

Winn, professor of psychology and family studies, has been a member of the Oklahoma Christian University staff for several years. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer about 10 years ago.

“[Winn is] really nice; she always has a really positive attitude,” Myers said. “It was different to see her when she first found out the news, how her attitude kind of changed. I am personally impressed with her. She continues to have a positive attitude even though she is dealing with a lot.”

Vanlandingham said she is happy the show is supporting Winn.

“…It kind of hits home for us, so I am glad we are doing it for that cause – for a cause that actually involves one of our own,” Vanlandingham said.

The magic show is on Nov. 8 at 7:00 p.m. in Judd Theater. Ticket sales begin at 6:30 p.m. Single tickets are $3 while family tickets are $5. Concessions are sold before the show and all proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.