How I Learned to Drive

By Paula Vogel
Directed by Tara Mallen

Paula Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning play is a compassionate, sophisticated, and gently humorous look at a heart-rending and all-too-common tragedy. Pedophilia, sexual predation, alcoholism, family dysfunction are issues rarely discussed in any setting, let alone on the stage. At the heart of How I Learned to Drive is a coming of age story of a bright and perceptive girl, Li’l Bit, who matures from a lonely 11-year-old into an 18-year-old who can stand up to her oppressor. It is also the story of her emotionally stunted Uncle Peck who preys on her need for affirmation, affection, and approval. Following a jumbled chronology, the play unfolds like a childhood memory that can’t be forgotten and is staged with a chorus like a Greek tragedy.

Director Tara Mallen is an actor and producing artistic director at Rivendell Theater Ensemble.

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