David's story

The first time I heard about the concept of Bite Marks was Camping in Carmel with Mark, Dennis and a few close friends about a year ago. Everyone was slightly smashed and deeply occupied by Mark's scary stories. As the evening progressed, the pouring hand gained weight and the creative juices started overflowing. By the end of the trip I put the idea of acting in a feature aside as cocktail talk and got on with my life in DC. Fast forward several months and I receive a phone call from the producer explaining that Bite Marks WAS going to happen and that I should say hello to my old friend Mark as he would be directing.

Once I made contact with Mr. Bessenger, I discovered that I was actually already being considered for a part in the film and shockingly to me - one of the characters (Vogel) had actually been based off ME! However, I would be required to audition for the part (gasp!). Luckily for me I had already made plans to head out to LA for a separate project of my own, so every thing seemed to fall into place quite conveniently.

Mark gave me a copy of the script once I made it out to the West Coast and I immediately drove out to the the beach to read it. Once I started going through the lines I could not pull myself away; I was laughing out loud and quickly realized why I was being considered: “Vogel has a continuous smirk and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, the kind that let’s you know he’s trouble and likes it that way.” This part was a perfect fit and I could not wait to audition.

Fortunately for me, I was quickly offered the part and was even asked to read through lines with those trying out for the other leads. Following a reading with Windham Beacham, I was convinced that not only did he fit Cary’s profile, but he was also pretty talented.

FIlming commenced a couple months after rehearsal in charming Seymour, Indiana - far from anything I would recognize as civilization. Fortunately, the schedule kept everyone quite busy for the majority of the project - dull moments were few and far in-between.

The cast and crew was riddled with very strong personalities that shockingly came together quite musically. The common enemy on set was the weather, which consistently put us behind schedule. But we rallied time and time again to pull it off. It took patience and cooperation on both sides of the camera as the experience level of all members was amusingly varied.

All in all I stand by Bite Marks as an amazing personal learning experience, as this was my first feature. There were many long and exhausting days and nights involved, but all merely strengthened my resolve. I’m very much looking forward to working with Benjamin, Windham and Mark again.