Benjamin Kegan was born to do film.

Since 2004, he has created numerous films and television pilots including “Betrayal in a Briefcase,” which won best drama in the 2004 Chicago Youth Media Festival, “From the Ashes,” which won best documentary of 2007 in the Poppy Jasper Film Fest, “Eighteen Down,” “Castle Academy,” and his latest piece “Team Taliban.”

“Team Taliban” is a documentary that explores terrorism and the War on Terror in American culture through the world of wrestling.  

Kegan was inspired to use the concept of wrestling, because he wished to dismiss the popular views of wrestling as entertainment.

“I wanted to create a reflection of the culture of wrestling and the ongoing play between performance and reality. I was interested in the space between the face of wrestling and what actually occurs there such as the play between masculinity and violence,” said Kegan.

Kegan filmed “Team Taliban” last summer by following professional wrestlers all over the country including Canada and New York City.  

The main focus of “Team Taliban” is Adeel Alam, a Muslim wrestler who feels conflicted between his passion, wrestling, and his faith.  

Kegan plans to screen “Team Taliban” later in the term.  

That was just Kegan’s summer project.  

Since Dec. 2008, Kegan teamed with theater and music major Evan Cartwright to write a new Web series called “Dry Creek.”  

“Dry Creek” will be a collection of nine distinct three to five minute episodes following the story of a son and daughter who uncover the secrets left behind by their dead father in a Western setting.   Kegan and Cartwright plan to shoot “Creek” this spring.

When asked what inspired the genre of web-series, Kegan said it was about convenience.  

“It allows people to watch whatever episodes we create again and again. So future Whitman students can also enjoy it as well as our friends who attend other schools in different locations and can never come to our performances. Plus if anyone ever needs a study break they can check out the web-series,” said Kegan.

 “Dry Creek” allowed both Cartwright and Kegan to add their creativity to a relatively new media.

 “[W]e wanted to create something in a genre that was not explored –– a deconstructed western theme. We think there has never been a web-series in that genre before and we think we’re the first to do it,” said Cartwright.

Kegan and Cartwright claimed they were drawn by Whitman’s surrounding Western landscape, which prompted them to ask questions that sparked a story.

“How does a land hold a legend or a story? How can a physical place hold a secret? The land the surrounds us in Eastern Washington was a large inspiration,” said Kegan.

Most of the scenes for “Dry Creek” will be shot in the wheat fields. Cartwright emphasized that they will avoid shooting on campus whenever possible.

 “We don’t want to have a scene shot in front of Olin and then everyone in the audience immediately point at it and say, ‘Hey it’s Olin!’ We want to maintain that suspension of disbelief,” said Cartwright.

Though not filmed on campus, the main actors in “Dry Creek” include Whitman students Kevin Moore (’09), Finn Straley (’11), Eliza Young (’11), and professor of rhetoric and film studies Robert “Bob” Withycombe. Additional students helping with the production include Bryan Sonderman (’10), Carly Spiering (’10), Sarah Trowbridge (’10), Sarah Hatheway (’09), and Sam Alden (’12).  

Overall, the main theme of “Dry Creek” is the secrets of the past and present. To Cartwright, the power of the past is unshakable.  

“The past has an effect on you, whether you leave it behind or not[…]it’s always kinda there,” said Cartwright.

For Kegan, “‘Dry Creek’ is about the mysteries of the present and the unanswered questions the past can hold over us. In the series we explore the idea that every house holds clues to the lives lived within its walls.”