 "Photo: Mary K. Bryant-Likens | The Spectator")
 "Photo: Mary K. Bryant-Likens | The Spectator")
A five-minute conversation about a narwhal doesn’t sound like a profound start to a personal essay in a college application, but to stand out from the myriad of college applicants, sometimes things have to get a little crazy.
“Writer 1272,” written and directed by Vincent Delaney, is the story of a company of young college admissions essay writers who can be hired online to write any and all essays for college applications. The characters have no names, just numbers, and, after losing two writers, they are looking for a new member to add to the creative team: Writer 1272. The surprising thing about these writers is that they all know each other in the real world—they just don’t realize it.
Charlie, a boy trying to get into college despite his doctorate-wielding mother’s desire for him to keep away from academia, is slowly descending further and further into depression. He is a talented writer, both as Writer 1270 and in his own life, but nothing he does is good enough for anyone, including himself. He wants so much to have someone else’s life that he starts living the life of a nervous, dunce-like boy named Carlo who has everything Charlie wants: to be a college student and to be dating the seemingly perfect Emily.
Throughout the play, the characters remain disconnected in their digital world, and the audience sees all of these people feeling alone except for the faceless fellow writers they only know anonymously through chat rooms and text messages. And unbeknownst to them, all of these friends are already in their real lives.
The simplicity of the staging adds to the effectiveness of an already well-done production. At first just four desks, chairs and laptops and a giant keyboard on the floor, it changes to a college dorm room complete with an old sofa, dirty laundry and garbage everywhere. The set gives just enough support for the actors without distracting from their excellent portrayal. Their costumes only add to their hilarity: rainbow pumps, bowler hats, green aprons, ’50s skirts. They look a little ridiculous, but the characters are a little ridiculous.
The set is also fascinating because it’s made entirely from recycled materials. According to stage manager Kacey Shiflet, sophomore theater major, all of the set pieces were either reused from the Lee Center’s last production, borrowed from local theaters or already owned—except for the couch, which was purchased from Value Village.
Unfortunately, the play seemed abruptly finished, and there was no resolution for the characters, no sense of connection instead of their endless separation.
“Writer 1272” is almost devious; the dialogue is intelligent and amusing, the actors are witty and whimsical with their long conversations about narwhals, but walking out of the theater, the audience realizes how sad and dark the lives of some of the characters are—perhaps because audiences in this modern age of remote communication so often go without real connections to real people.
“Writer 1272” is showing in the Lee Center March 11 through 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the Lee Center box office and are $6 for students, $10 for general admission.
Alena may be reached at schoonma@seattleu.edu
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