My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. In the opening scene,LilBit, age17, and her uncle,Peck,are sitting in the front seat of his car for their weekly get-together. The script then returns to the present. The female chorus removes Pecks pedophilia from being his responsibility by linking it to troubles brought on by external events and his repression of emotions. The women are at various points in their lives, opening up to reveal personal stories related to a string of pearls that, without their awareness,connects them. The play opens with the present-day Lil Bit setting the scene. Peck uses music to make Lil Bit feel comfortablebut only for his own gain. She believes that her marriage can be saved as soon as her niece goes off to college. Vogels script creates its own piercing language for assault, harassment and all the ways our society reinforces regressive ideas about gender, sex and consent. The official-sounding voice announces: You and the Reverse Gear. This takes the action back to 1965, in which a thirteen-year-old Lil Bit is being photographed by Peck in his basement. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. She claims that he is a good man, and that it is all Li'l Bit's fault for leading him on. WhenLilBit goes to college, Peck frequently sends her gifts and flowers. She once again retreats to Peck when an argument erupts. His proposal just to hold her is another instance of him coercing her into sexual activity by presenting it as inherently harmless. Peck uses his position as a father figure to keep Lil Bit on his side. The play premiered on March 16, 1997, Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. And yet How I Learned to Drive is also funny. Aunt Mary takes the stage to defend her husband's actions to the audience. It has the air of a thesis, implying wisdom and knowledge. Mother is wary of him, but finally relents, telling Li'l Bit that she holds her responsible for any misdeeds. Lil Bit is at college, away from the family home. Peck plays his last card as he senses Lil Bit slipping away: a marriage proposal. I wish I could have seen Parker and Morse 25 years ago, first stepping into these roles. Instant downloads of all 1715 LitChart PDFs The play was produced in Spanish by DETUCH Company in various theaters in Santiago, Chile in 2008, with Alejandra Daz Scharager (Lil' Bit), Vctor Montero (Uncle Peck), Gabriel Urza (Male Greek Chorus), Annie Murath (Female Greek Chorus) and Carolina Larenas (Teenage Greek Chorus), directed by Marco Espinoza Quezada. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, half wanting to run, half wanting to get it over with, half wanting to be held by him. [14] Natalie Battistone and Colby Morgan played the lead roles. These, too, cause Lil Bit confusion: she likens her breasts to hostile alien life forces and radio transmitters, sending out siren-like signals to men in order to attract them to dash themselves on these rocks. At the school dance, Lil Bit refuses to join in any of the fast numbers, afraid that the boys just want to see her jiggling.. Some brilliant monologues and one liners in there! Peck never recovers Lil Bits rejection and is ultimately killed by the same thing that comforts him: alcohol. Feelings which she is ashamed of and horrify her but she can't seem to shake. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. A good place to start can be a monologue that's serio-comedic, combining comedy with pathos and tragedy. Lil Bits second inventive image also displays her erudition, showing an awareness of Greek mythology (sirens were dangerous creatures who lured sailors to their deaths). 0:00 / 1:37 "How I Learned to Drive" Monologue - Sammi Soprano 3,670 views Jan 8, 2016 15 Dislike Share Sammi Soprano 20 subscribers Monologue from "How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. Get them laughing, then hit them with an emotional wallop. This also introduces the idea of Pecks suppressed vulnerability relating to alcohol. She wants to escape the kind of background that doesnt value women, exemplified by the male chorus. The mother fell pregnant at an early age and had a bad relationship with the Lil Bits father. Peck is treating Lil Bit for passing her driving test first time. L.A. Theatre Works produced an audio performance of the play, starring Glenne Headly, Randall Arney, Joy Gregory, Paul Mercier, and Rondi Reed. October 2019. This is in no way intended by Vogel to blame her for what happens, but instead to highlight the complicated mix of seemingly contradictory emotions involved in the relationship. Release him.. The shift up a gear signals an acceleration towards the climax of the relationship and, more widely, the ending of the play. This play has some character interaction, but mostly it is filled with beautiful "modernsoliloquies." "[7], Ben Brantley, in his The New York Times review of the original 1997 production, wrote: "The scrambled chronology, which suggests the ways memories attack by stealth and out of sequence, makes it harder for the audience to form conventional judgments. Download. Occasionally, however, Brokaw doesnt have the lightest touch with the productions comedy and often fails to give the more stirring scenes the extra beat they require before things move along. Next, the teenage chorus introduces a scene in which Peck takes Lil Bits young cousin, BB (standing for blue balls; the entire family is nicknamed after their genitalia), fishing. Li'l Bit takes control once again to recount a conversation she had with her mother and grandmother about sex. With this technique, Vogel underscores both Pecks constant presence in Lil Bits mind and the way memory has its own logic. Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. -How I Learned to Drive is not told with a straightforward plot but is instead an uneven mixture of flashbacks, narration, monologues, and the kind of impersonal voice-over that you would here in driver education films -this play is not actually about how she learned how drive; its about how she LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE Conclusion It is Christmas in 1964. by Paula Vogel. How I Learned to Drive,a play written by Paula Vogel, premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998. This, of course, is not how Lil Bit sees it, which is why she rejects his question about other men. The car is again presented as a site of the erotic. The play works in a non-linear way, using flashbacks, monologues and a heightened sense of the surreal to show how Lil Bit relates to her memory and trauma. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Lil Bit has come because she wants to tell Peck that she doesnt want to see him anymore. [19], Jill Dolan, in her review in Theatre Journal, wrote of the original 1997 Off-Broadway production: "Vogels choice to remember Lil Bit and Pecks relationship nonchronologically illustrates its complexity, and allows the playwright to build sympathy for a man who might otherwise be despised and dismissed as a child molester.Vogel builds the relationship in scenes sculpted with spare efficiency by Brokaw that crystallize moments of trust, disappointment, longing, and desire. LilBit fallsasleep, and Peck tucks her into a blanket. With her hands on the steering wheel, Lil Bit quips that she wont be able to defend herself; Peck vows never to touch her while shes driving. There's a reason she won the 1998 Pullitzer for her play "How I Learned to Drive," in which this monologue appears. This shows that Lil Bits treatment was part of a sustained campaign of objectification by her classmateseven the female ones. When Peck proposes to her,LilBit reiterates that she cant see him. Lil Bits avoidance of jiggling continues to the present day. The L Magazine review commented: "Vogels play is twisted, smart (drive: metaphors for control, anyone?) Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Broadway). This link seems to show that, despite moments of affection and confusion on Lil Bits part here and there, the relationship is inherently abusive. Well-received by critics as well as survivors of sexual assault, the play addresses sexual double standards women face and how women are often blamed for their own abuse. [15], In 2015, the play received its first professional London revival at Southwark Playhouse, starring Olivia Poulet as Li'l Bit and William Ellis as Peck, directed by Jack Sain, produced by D.E.M. The male chorus is, in essence, saying that she is defined by her physical appearance. Li'l Bit (Mary-Louise Parker) and Uncle Peck (David Morse) are painted with the delicate brush strokes of a sumi painting, more subtle than sensational, and as unstereotypical a victim and victimizer as Lolita and Humbert Humbert (from Nabokov's Lolita which the playwright credits as her inspiration)Before I say one more word, this is one of the must-see events of the season"[6], The Baltimore Sun reviewer wrote of the 1998 Center Stage production: "The surprising gift Vogel has given her two main characters is that, instead of labeling them good and evil, or victim and criminal, she treats them both with respect. "[2], Vogel explained: "she intended the play 'to get the audience to go along for a ride they wouldn't ordinarily take, or don't even know they're taking. Peck associates control with men. [13], In 2012 University of Vermont's Department of Theatre produced the play with Vogel attending and addressing a symposium on women writers. Peck thinks of himself as a legitimate lover threatened by potential others. LilBit tells Peck she is struggling in school, that she knows why hes excited forher eighteenth birthday,and that she cant see him anymore. The fact that he has loved Lil Bit since she was born, meanwhile, further highlights the deeply inappropriate nature of his pursuit. Present-day Lil Bit then reveals that she flunked out of school because she was drinking too much and spent the rest of that time period driving through the night. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Each scene is designated a driving rule thatalso reflectsthe life lessonLilBit learns therein. This scene takes the audience back to the earliest point in the chronology of Pecks sexual behavior towards Lil Bit. At this point, the female chorus jumps in as Aunt Mary, Pecks wife. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. Lil Bit plays the role of caregiver and sympathizer, underscoring the emotional complexity of her relationship with Peck. [18] In June 2021, it was announced that the production would begin previews on March 29, 2022, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and officially open on April 19. Every day brings another gift and note from Peck, which seem to be counting down to her eighteenth birthday (when it becomes legal for them to have sex). With Mary-Louise Parker, David Morse, Johanna Day, Alyssa May Gold, Chris Myers. Framing the narrative like this underlines the extent to which Lil Bits trauma and memories are linked to learning to drivewith her Uncle Peck. The particular quote in question is relevant to the play as a wholein order to move on with her life, Lil Bit has to treat her memories with mercy by letting them live, rather than blocking them out (strained in the Shakespeare is short for constrained). She cant forget what happened with Peck, but through better understand her trauma, she canliterallymove on. Peck's wife Mary (Li'l Bit's maternal aunt) asks him to comfort Li'l Bit, indicating that she (Mary) is ignorant of his abuse. In their first driving lesson, she sat on his lap and steered while he pushed the petals. One day he fell down his basement stairs and died. How old were you? With the music on that she loves, she thus takes agency of the situation. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. The scene turns to when she is15years old andisasking her grandmother and mother whether sex hurts for the first time. Balmy evenings are fraught with danger; seductions happen anywhere. The next vignette begins with the off-stage voice saying, Were You Prepared?. In this, it is strongly implied that Peck sexually abuses his young relative. Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse have returned to Paula Vogel's 1997 Pulitzer-winning play about sexual abuse for its Broadway debut. Vogel is careful not to portray Peck as a monster, and this scene is part of that overall project. Peck unhooks her bra through her shirt, an act that Li'l Bit finds uncomfortable. Seeking 2 Actor Team for Spring At her most vulnerable she seems to fold into herself like a work of origami, hinging at the waist, tucking a bent knee beneath her, clutching her legs to her chest. By Paula Vogel. Lil Bit drunkenly kisses Peck in the car afterwards, before freaking out about the inappropriateness of their relationship. In 1979, on a long bus trip,LilBit meets an underage boy; the two go out to dinner and then have sex in her room. Li'l Bit sits in the car with Uncle Peck, only she doesn't speak her lines out loud. Synopsis: A mother gives her daughter essential tips on how to drink when on a date. Here, Vogel mixes two memories together. This offers the reverse perspective of the above, as the mother blames the grandmother for not being a better role model/confidante. Explaining that sometimes to tell a secret, you first have to teach a lesson, she introduces the first flashback, which takes place in 1969 when she is seventeen. Written by Polly Barbour An adult Li'l Bit tells the audience how she learned to drive. A few scenes about Lil Bits interactions with her family and peers gawking or jeering at her busty pubescent figure reveal how even our friends and loved ones can be complicit, to small and large degrees, in the ways women and girls are denied agency over their bodies. Though Lil Bits quote here is expressly about sex, it echoes across the other gender issues presented in the play. Viewing Peck through the prism of a myth shows that she is attaining an increasing sense of distance from the relationship and its traumatic effects. Because of the function of the law in relation to sex and society, Peck senses that one day could make all the difference between officially transgressive sexual behavior and a legitimate relationship. All of Pecks gifts show a woeful misunderstanding of Lil Bits age and intellect. Arguably Lil Bits anger subsides here not because she is glad of Pecks amorous feelings, but because they closely map on to her longing for a father figure. Would I have met the same awed silence? Ok. Little Mary Jane is walking through the woods, when all of a sudden this man who was hiding behind a tree jumps out, rips open Mary Janes blouse, and plunges his hands on her breasts. The small talk fades away. This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. In a hotel room, over champagne,PeckandLilBitcelebrate her eighteenth birthday. Soon after, they are in a fancy hotel room. Peck touches and kisses Lil Bits breasts, though she is reluctant and especially aware that she has an important day at school the following day. The play implies that Peck is right about girls turning into women before boys turn into menfirstly, puberty does start in girls earlier than boys. Morses performance brings out one of the many successes of the script: Vogel allows us to empathize with a despicable character without condoning his actions. He may not violently force Lil Bit to do things against her will, but he undoubtedly coerces her psychologically. The acceleration of the action continues. The play is structured as an intimate collection of memories roughly organized around a set of rules about the basics of driving, as if someone had sneaked in a series of watercolor portraits between the pages of a drivers manual. 35 David Morse and Mary-Louise Parker in Paula Vogel's play. The production opened February 13, 2012 and was favorably reviewed by The New York Times. Unable to deal with that memory again, Li'l Bit changes the memory (as part of the driving metaphor, she likens this to changing stations on the radio) to when Uncle Peck first taught her how to start up a car. The next scene presents the beginning of Lil Bit and Pecks relationship. The female chorus advice does not provide Lil Bit with useful guidance about sexit merely says to avoid it. New York, NY, Stage Manager at The Democracy Project Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. How I Learned to DriveThrough May 29 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater, Manhattan; manhattantheatreclub.com. A boy asks her to dance at a school sock hop, but Li'l Bit refuses, believing he just wants to see her breasts "jiggle" while she dances. How I Learned to Drive tells the story of Li'l Bit, now a woman of around thirty-five years, coming to terms with the abusive and emotionally complex relationship that she had with her Uncle Peck. Li'l Bit becomes confused as to how Peck could abuse her while still being helpful. WhenLilBit is13, Peck takes photos of her as she poses. Ms. Vogel is too intelligent to present this simply as a study in victim versus villain or to fail to acknowledge that what's happening is, in some appalling way, a real love story. Report abuse. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. How I Learned to Drive is a play written by American playwright Paula Vogel. When he promises not to cross the line, she naively states the line to be frontal nudity. He accidentally lets slip that he intends to build a portfolio to one day send to Playboy. LilBit, somewhat assured, continues the shoot. Even at this early age, Lil Bit is aware of a potential sexual element that she is keen to prevent. Michele Lowe has the ability tobring humorout of well-drawnmoments filled with vulnerability and pain. Pecks drinking of the champagne indicates his destabilization as it begins to dawn on him that things wont go to plan. Paula Vogel is a brilliant writer with mountains of wit and this monologue is a prime illustration of that. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. The voice announcement recurs throughout, marking transitions between Lil Bits different recollections using the types of phrases associated with driving instruction. Vogel received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work. I cant go on, include all of Emilys lines that follow (cut all of interjections by other characters). But this dynamic is twisted by the sexualization of their relationshipwhich is why they switch roles here, with Lil Bit playing the moral authority and Peck, for want of a better word, flirting. Li'l Bit yells at Uncle Peck for becoming so possessive, while he insists that his niece is the love of his life. Though she accuses him of going over the line here, the viewer knows that he has already gone over the line on many occasions before. The off-stage voice cuts in, announcing, . Since early. The Stage Manger, Lemml A female monologue from the play How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel. Instant downloads of all 1715 LitChart PDFs The waiter looks on disapprovingly, but Peck pays him off with a big tip. She learns to drive with the help of Uncle Peck who sexually abuses her as a teenager of which affects her through her adulthood. I dont knowMaybe its just me, but do you ever feel like youre a walking Mary Jane joke? The advice Lil Bit receives in the play is almost invariably bad and more often than not is about maintaining the status quo. The female choruss mention of Uncle Peck is intentionally grotesque, underscoring the inappropriateness of his sexual attraction to his niece. He orders her oysters and martinis, the latter of which she knocks back one after another despite being underage. Li'l Bit breaks from this scene to describe her family to the audience. For monologues not written by Gabriel Davis that are recommended on this site royalties may apply so be sure to contact the relevant author or their agent for permission to use their work. CRITIC'S PICK! Lil Bit is determined to get a good education, which the male chorus says she isnt going to need. This reinforces the idea of sex as animalistic and primal while also emphasizing that it takes place on the mans terms. This again hints at Pecks own trauma, perhaps related to his relationship with his own mother. Vogel equates objectification with a basic lack of humanity. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, An official-sounding voice announces, Safety first You and. (including. The play "How I learned to drive" is written by the playwright Paula Vogel and won her a Pulitzer award for drama in 1998. and ultimately tragic, though shrewdly staggered moments of levity and candor keep it from Lifetime lows. But she intends this as an excuse for Peck, instead placing the burden of responsibility solely on Lil Bitwhich is obviously incorrect. Struggling with distance learning? The scenes jump. This particular announcement signals that the action is going backwards in terms of the plays chronology. Li'l Bit reflects on how she is ready to move on with her life, and that despite everything she has been through, she can thank her Uncle Peck for one thing: the freedom she feels when she drives. Peck makes sexually-suggestive comments toLilBit, but when she tells him to [b]e good (10), he feigns innocence. HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE is the story of a woman who learns the rules of the road and life fro. Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse have returned to Paula Vogels 1997 Pulitzer-winning play about sexual abuse for its Broadway debut. End on page 65 you noticed the awful ones because they dominated the landscape.. Lil Bit categorically doesnt want to be defined by her appearance, wanting to use her mind in life rather than her body. The three halves of Lil Bits mental state indicate her level of confusion. Lil Bits grandmother is a god-fearing woman, which is why shes taking a line in this which is intended to put off Lil Bit from having sex before marriage. The way the action shifts around rapidly between different time periods is Vogels way of emphasizing that trauma and memory do not function in a reliable, linear way. Remember? With the above in mind, Lil Bit reminds the viewer that her experiences can never be fully left behind. The dramatic and comedic monologues from the play. In doing so, it also addresses the issues of sympathy and forgiveness. Startled by how unhinged her uncle has become, Li'l Bit arranges a meeting in a Philadelphia hotel room on December 10, 1969. It also illuminates how women are molded and manipulated not only by their abusers but by society at-large. The contrast between the plays biting humor and the serious subject matter reflects the complicated relationship betweenLilBit and Peck. Pulitzer Prize Winner Paula Vogel on the Alaskan Summer That Inspired, "Women in Theatre: Transcending Barriers", "At UVM, a Symposium and a New Season of Plays Explore Women in Theater", "Olivia Poulet stars in How I Learned to Drive at Southwark Playhouse", "Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse to Star in Paula Vogel's How I Learned to DriveAgainon Broadway", "Broadway's How I Learned to Drive, Starring Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, Postponed", SET Groups Performance of "How I Learned to Drive", June 2010, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=How_I_Learned_to_Drive&oldid=1135597370, Teenage Greek Chorus played by Kerry O'Malley, Off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Awards (1997), Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (David Morse), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (Mary-Louise Parker), This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 17:40. To how Peck could abuse her while still being helpful confused as to how Peck could her! 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