BRISTOL, Tenn., March 14, 2019 — A group of King University students who came together 20 years ago to stage productions of well-known plays at various Bristol locations will have their story told next month when “King’s Rogues: A Documentary” premieres on campus.

The film will be screened at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, in the Fine Arts Building as part of the University’s annual Dogwood Homecoming Weekend. The premiere coincides with the class of 1999’s 20-year reunion.

During the late 1990s, a group of King students from many different academic disciplines and athletic teams came together to form King’s Rogues, then performed such plays as T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral,” Oscar Wilde’s “Salome,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” and Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead.” Many of the students had no acting or theater experience. The performances were held in Memorial Chapel and the Fine Arts Building on campus and at Theatre Bristol’s ArtSpace.

To honor these past performances and the bonds formed during this two-year period, Brenna Seifried Ruiz and Jason Slayton, both members of the Class of 1999, produced the documentary. It features footage of the original productions, newly recorded scenes and interviews with King’s Rogues cast members, and conversations with King faculty members past and present.  Craig McDonald, a retired faculty member, helped create the documentary.

“A play is like practicing for life,” said Slayton. “You can play a hero or villain, or you might play someone with very little impact in the grand scheme.  Twenty years later, you realize the practice was useful because you find yourself playing all three in your current real life.”

Seifried Ruiz said connections between King alumni and faculty members were reestablished during the making of the film, adding  “the process of finding alumni, interviewing, creating new recordings, and collecting ephemera from the late 90s has led us to reflect on the nature of memory, time, technology, and the many changes that have taken place at King.”

The premiere of “King’s Rogues: A Documentary,” is free and open to the public. Those planning to attend are asked to register online at dogwood.king.edu.