Olivia Adams
Last Spring, a unique new play debuted in Performance Hall as a graduate student project. Written and directed by Jon Klukow, “Argus and the Maze of Myth” is an entertaining combination of comedy, romance and thriller. Due to the play’s success and popularity last Spring, it returned to the stage to give another round of students a chance to experience the story of Argus.
This time, the play also served as a benefit for the Piedmont Women’s Center of Upstate South Carolina. Proceeds from ticket sales will be used to support the Piedmont Women’s Center on their mission to provide free pregnancy and sexual health care to women in need. It is a faith-based non-profit organization that has served its community since 1991. They also provide parenting classes, enabling families to thrive. Dr. David Schwingle organized the charity showing.
Argus is a young squire to Sir William the Brave III, and the play tells the story of his journey through the maze. He follows Sir William into the dark, spooky maze to help him locate and rescue the trapped fair maiden, Julia. Sir William is a proud, bumbling knight who blindly rushes into everything while Argus is a coward with a kind heart who is too frightened to be much help. They face the dangers and obstacles of the maze and are changed for the better as a result. But will it be enough to save Julia, their own skins and defeat the mysterious, deadly monster that wants nothing more than to make the maze their final resting place?
The cast of Argus and the Maze of Myth consisted of two senior theatre students, William Klapperich and Hongen Hu, one junior theatre student, Elijah Gleiter, and two theatre minors, Justin Keith and Kayle Partin.
Kayle Partin played Julia, a fair maiden trapped in the maze and hiding a terrible secret. Julia’s been trapped for years with only her pet goat and the horrors of the maze for company. Kayle has been acting in minor roles since high school and credits the summer BJU theatre EDU Camp for sparking the longevity of her interest in acting. She was in “Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden” her freshman year as well as the theatre department’s annual 24-hour play Bake-Off and served on the BJU drama team at the Answers in Genesis’ Ark Encounter.
Last Spring, she played a maid in the Von Trapp household in BJU’s production of “The Sound of Music.” Her role in “Argus and the Maze of Myth” was the largest role she has played to date.
When asked if comedy was her preferred type of role, Kayle said, “Making an audience laugh means a lot more to me than making an audience cry.” In her words, she considers Argus to be a “Princess Bride” type of story. Kayle said she loves the show dearly and thinks “One of the coolest things about being in the show is being in the first cast.”
Hongen starred as the fan favorite little goat, Ronathan. He has been involved in theatre for many years, going back to high school where he performed in several faith-based productions. To Hongen, the desire to act is an instinct that he has cultivated throughout his college career. Hongen has been involved with several productions in the past few years, most notably in “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Hongen emphasizes dramaturgy and actually served as the dramaturg for “Argus and the Maze of Myth.”
Hongen’s academic career goal is to “focus more on the theatrical theory, oracle dramaturgy and theatrical aesthetics.” He would love to explore the integration of Oriental aesthetics into Western aesthetics in grad school.
In “Argus,” Hongen provides the bleat of the goat and is the puppeteer controlling the goat’s movements. The puppet was constructed from scratch by Stage Manager Alexia Bainbridge, Costume Designer Lyvia Miller and Elijah Gleiter, who was the lighting designer in addition to playing Sir William.
Working the puppet is a very physical role that requires surprising agility and gracefulness. Hongen explained that “Nothing like that will come naturally in a blink. Hard work is inevitable.” Playing Ronathan may not have involved saying any lines, but that little goat is just as important to the story of “Argus” as the human characters. In Hongen’s words, “The goat is the seasoning to the whole production. It may not be the main ingredient but without the goat, the show is completely different.”
Elijah Gleiter returned as the irritating but hilarious Sir William the Brave III. Elijah is a familiar face to the student body for his role as Christian in “Cyrano de Bergerac” last Fall. He was also heavily involved in the production of “The Sound of Music” as the understudy for Captain Von Trapp and the assistant to the director. He has also served on the drama team at the Ark Encounter two years in a row and is currently preparing for his role as Edgar in “King Lear.”
Mr. Gleiter is musically talented, and “Argus” features a solo voice performance by his character, Sir William. Sir William may not be the main character in Argus, but the play begins and ends with his perspective. Sir William accomplishes much of the background work of the play and serves as comic relief. In the words of Elijah’s co-stars, “Sir William is definitely a part of what makes Argus, Argus.” and “The play wouldn’t be anywhere near as engaging to people if it didn’t have Sir William.” Sir William is the bridge between the show and the audience.
Justin Keith portrays the title character of the play, Argus. The character starts out with as much spine as a jellyfish and the main plot of the play is the story of his personal growth. Justin has been acting since elementary school when he first joined a theatre group. His acting career at BJU has been nearly half and half split between Rodeheaver and Performance Hall. He performed in “Our Town,” “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “The Sound of Music.”
Justin said that he sees similarities between Argus and himself and that those similarities made playing the character easier. Justin’s favorite part of being in the show has been the rehearsals. He said, “The performances are fun, but I love the rehearsals. Just because I’m with friends!” The people are what keep him doing theatre. As to the show itself, Justin enjoys the goofy moments of the show the best. If Justin could play any of the other characters in the show, he would play Sir William “Just ‘cause he’s goofy and I love the silly characters!”
William Klapperich appeared as the fearsome monster that hunts those who are unfortunate enough to get lost in his maze. His costume was an impressive piece of design that has Will towering over the rest of the cast. Will has played Benvolio in “Romeo and Juliet,” Le Bret in “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Colonel Brandon in “Sense and Sensibility.” Playing the villain in “Argus” is a deviation from the characters he has played recently, but he does a very good job with what little stage time he has. The conflict of the play rests on him and he delivers it masterfully.