Students and alumna use an audio drama to inspire faith and hope

Travelers beware. “Route Styx” is an upcoming podcast full of ghost stories, cryptic beings and fried chicken. The podcast leads its listeners through the process of healing dysfunctional family cycles while maintaining its entertaining and spooky nature. Created by current and former Liberty University students, “Route Styx” has been aided by the creative minds of Steven Dean and writer for Adventures in Odyssey, John Fornoff.

“‘Route Styx’ is the idea of the great American road trip meets the Twilight Zone,” executive producer and director Colton Grellier said.

The podcast follows Denise as she and other wanderers find themselves on “Route Styx” and encounter the supernatural with the “passengers” they find along the way.

“Route Styx” takes some of its inspiration from “The Encounter,” an audio mystery drama set in a dystopian future that Grellier also worked on. The Department of Digital Media and Journalism and the Theatre Arts Department at Liberty University produced this drama.

Now, Grellier works closely with his cast, includes them in final writing decisions and gives them creative freedom in portraying their characters.

“I wanted to create the fun and enjoyment that I had from working on ‘The Encounter’ …  (which) is that collaborative community of just hanging out and … goofing off with a bunch of other people who love theater and voice acting,” Grellier said. “I eventually came to love that and crave that input. … (I began to feel) secure enough in my own writing that if people make comments, (I know) it’s not about me. It’s just about the story.”

Grellier said there are two predominant themes woven throughout “Route Styx.”

“The (theme) that’s been more apparent at the beginning is the idea of breaking dysfunctional cycles … and what it takes to get out of them,” Grellier said. “The second theme is coming to terms and even peace with chaos or things that cannot be understood.”

Grellier hopes the audience will resonate with “Route Styx.”    

“The devil’s best weapon is isolation. … By talking about (this) dark stuff, it’s like, ‘oh my gosh, someone else in the world that is (like) me,’” Grellier said.

Maia Rose, a sophomore at Liberty and the voice actor for the character Denise, believed “Route Styx” has the ability to inspire its listeners.

“Stories have such a powerful potential to affect people. … It can inspire people towards a better course for their lives,” Rose said.

Beyond inspiration, “Route Styx” has the ability to share truth with its listeners.

“If nothing else, if … one person went away listening to this with a little bit more hope than when they started, my job is done,” recurring voice actor for “Route Styx,” senior Stephanie Lester, said. “I would love to be a small part of helping to impart wisdom in a person’s life.”

Lester felt that the community she found in “Route Styx” was a “safe place” for her to be herself. “I cannot describe to you what being part of this community has meant to me as a person, as an actor (and) as a creative,” Lester said.

The first season of “Route Styx” is expected to come out by the end of 2024 with season two beginning production this spring. The drama plans to have four seasons overall to provide students with experience in a multi-year-long production.

The “Route Styx” season one trailer can be found on the YouTube channel, Sound and Fury Entertainment. More information can be found on Instagram, @sound.and.fury.entertainment.

McKinnon is an arts & culture reporter.