Come along for the ride as presents Paula Vogel鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “How I Learned to Drive.” This deeply compassionate play looking into how one woman鈥檚 courage to face a troubled time in her past leads her to take control of her own life opens April 7 in the Archbold Theatre at the 黑料不打烊 Stage/SU Drama Complex, 820 E. Genesee St. There will be two preview performances on Wednesday, April 5, and Thursday, April 6.
Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “How I Learned to Drive” masterfully veers in and out of the personal memories of a character known as Li鈥檒 Bit to explore her complicated relationship with an uncle by marriage. These memories take place in 1960s Maryland and shift through various periods in her adolescence. As Li鈥檒 Bit narrates these episodes, a Greek Chorus made up of three members鈥攁 Teenage Chorus, Male Chorus and Female Chorus鈥攁ssume various family members and significant individuals from the past. A voiceover from a driving manual and vibrant ’60s pop music punctuate the action.
Playwright Vogel expertly sustains the humor and pathos of Li鈥檒 Bit鈥檚 journey without trivializing either emotion. Written with intelligence and grace, scenes ricochet from wildly comedic to gasp-inducing in an instant. Vogel explained in The New York Times that she intended for the play 鈥渢o get the audience to go along for the ride they wouldn鈥檛 normally take,鈥 and the comic facility eases the journey without undermining the seriousness of the play鈥檚 concerns.
Director Laura Kepley felt personally connected to the play after reading it in college 18 years ago. She says it started to grow on her because it was one of the first times a contemporary woman stood center stage and bravely spoke about her struggles. To Kepley, Li鈥檒 Bit鈥檚 ability to face her harrowing past makes her a woman of empowerment and unwavering strength.
鈥淟i鈥檒 Bit鈥檚 telling this secret, and by telling this secret she is discovering that she can take control of her past and drive forward in her life,鈥 says Kepley.
Vogel believes in the power of theatre to be a place of transformation because it creates empathy, and “How I Learned to Drive” accomplishes exactly that.
鈥淚 do have this faith that the more naked you are as an actor, the more people see themselves on that stage,” Vogel says. “They鈥檙e not seeing you. You become their stand-in. So the second you step out alone and you don鈥檛 have dialogue supporting you, they鈥檙e seeing themselves. What the opening of this play really says is that you鈥檙e about to see your life story unfold.鈥
As the play addresses the troubling topic of sexual abuse, McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center and Vera House will have referral and resource information in the “How I Learned to Drive” program and at tables in the 黑料不打烊 Stage lobby.
鈥淲e are so pleased to partner with these outstanding community organizations as we present this beautiful, unsettling piece of theatre that gives voice to those stories that far too often stay hidden,鈥 says Jill Anderson, managing director of 黑料不打烊 Stage.
Tickets are available at , by phone at 315.443.3275 and in person at the Box Office.
