The Ravenscroft Alumni Association honored actor, screenwriter, director and producer David Rountree ’93 with induction into the school’s Fine Arts Hall of Fame during the All-Alumni Awards Celebration on Friday, May 3. The event was part of Alumni Weekend and was attended by nearly 200 alumni and their guests.

Rountree is founder and president of Psycho Rock Productions. He has directed and produced six feature films and written eight. He is currently developing a new television series, “Serios.”

The Alumni Fine Arts Hall of Fame Award was created in 2013 to celebrate the Fine Arts Department’s legacy of excellence and the many individuals have made invaluable artistic contributions to the school. Eligible alumni include professional artists, performers, lyricists, screen and theatrical writers as well as faculty and staff who deserve to be honored for their contributions to the arts. To date, five highly accomplished Ravens have been inducted: opera singer and university professor William Joyner ’80, actor and philanthropist Emily Procter ’86, painter and Tucker Street alumna Marriott Procter Little ’47, former Director of Fine Arts and Assistant Head of School Jill Muti and actor/musician Michael C. Hall ’89.

Rountree was inducted by Alumni Council president Anne Forsyth English ’98, who also nominated him for the recognition.

While he is best known today as the writer-director of the horror film “Cut!” (2014) and the baseball comedy “108 Stitches” (2014), Rountree said he wasn’t always set on a career behind the camera. Following his college years at NC State, where he played three sports and “played a little with theater,” he moved out to the West Coast to pursue a career in acting. 

“I was fortunate to make a full-time living as an actor, but after landing in the movie ‘Pearl Harbor,’ I was fascinated by watching Michael Bay direct,” he explained. “This started my real interest in putting all the storytelling pieces together. I started writing, directing and making short films. One was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival in France, which is the second biggest festival in the world. After that, I knew that I wanted to write, direct and produce.” 

Rountree said he benefited from the mentoring of Steve Kloves, the screenwriter behind the “Harry Potter” movies — and from the rigorous writing instruction he received in Ravenscroft’s Upper School.

“I gained a ton of confidence in my writing at Ravenscroft, which allowed me to start having fun with something that I had previously shied away from,” he said. “I then enrolled in a creative writing class at Ravenscroft, which I loved, and that carried over into college as I took every writing class that I could find.”

Rountree, who resides in Los Angeles, returned to Raleigh for the weekend’s reunion festivities and spent much of Thursday, May 2, speaking to Upper and Middle School students who are enrolled in theater classes. He said he was “incredibly appreciative and honored” for the recognition.

“Ravenscroft gave me the ability, confidence and support system to look beyond being ‘just an athlete’ and realize that, with hard work — very hard work — I was also able to compete in a world that is more influenced by creativity and intellect. I am forever grateful to Ravenscroft and the teachers and coaches who encouraged me, as they are the ones who I give all of the credit for this award,” he said. “Going back to Ravenscroft for the weekend and having the ability to interact with the Fine Arts classes was a tremendous experience. I hope that I was also able to offer knowledge and inspiration to the students as they begin their journey into the world of fine arts.”

The Ravenscroft Alumni Association presented a number of awards on Friday, May 3, as part of Alumni Weekend. Go to Our Ravens>Alumni to read stories about the recipients of those awards and the many other outstanding Ravens alumni who make our school community proud.