Benjamin Seelig is a sophomore at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, majoring in communications. He is currently part of the Marquee yearbook staff. In the 2023-2024 school year, he was involved in various activities and projects related to communications.
Marquee Yearbook Staff
2023-2026
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
2022-2026
Sophomore, Communications Major
Communications Major
2022-2026
Projects
A New World of acting was my first long format story that I wrote for the publication. This story introduced me to the editing process, as the current rendition has undergone many changes since the first draft. Additionally, I had the challenge of having to conduct interviews completely online, as this story was assigned before the first day of school. I got the initial interviews over Instagram DMs, which hindered the quotes at first. Once in person though, I was able to get interviews with the four subjects. The final product dives deeper into the story than I anticipated.
A Relative Maximum was one of my favorite stories, as the shrewd, determined personality of the subject was able to come through in the writing. During the writing process, I learned to shape the story to match the town, vs using a formula. One of the challenges was conveying the facts of the story, as I had to describe the tutoring nature between him and his sister, along with his school timeline. In the end though, I was able to keep the interesting details in, cutting out the unnecessary information.
In Your Spare Time was one of my first sports features, needing me to change my questions to focus on growth, skill, and accomplishment. The first draft was a little bland, so I needed to take a more narrative approach. This allowed the story to both flow better, and show growth over time. After a follow up interview, I was able to write a more fulfilling story. Additionally, the subject was a little shy, so making sure the interviewee was comfortable was a top priority.
Pushing Through the Pain was one of the most shocking stories I wrote, as the subjects revealed some of the less pretty details of technical theatre. The interviewees were mostly rapid and animated in their responses, so mirroring them helped them to get more comfortable. The first subject helped guide me to other sources, leading me through different takes, and learning new, chaotic events to ask further on. When writing the story, I had trouble with formatting the quotes within quotes and ellipses, but learned the grammar with each edit.
Benjamin Seelig has worked on various creative and newsworthy projects during his time at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. These projects include writing news, features, and poetry.
Reporting & Writing
Below are examples of work done for the Marquee Yearbook. Click on the title to bring up the piece.
Editing, Leadership, and Teambuilding
Ben participates in the sharing of story ideas that will make the yearbook fresh.
