How I Learned to Drive

1. 1. At what point in Li’l Bit’s life do you think Uncle Peck started to desire her sexually? Do you think he desired her before she was a pre-teen?

2. Li’l Bit’s family frequently talks and jokes about sex. What influence do you think this had on Li’l Bit allowing Uncle Peck to have a relationship with her?

3. What do you think would have happened to Li’l Bit and Uncle Peck if she had admitted to having feelings for him in the hotel room?

4. When Li’l Bit is 11 and wants to go to the beach with Uncle Peck, her mother refuses. She eventually lets her go but tells Li’l Bit that if anything happens she’s going to hold Li’l Bit responsible. How do you think this affected Li’l Bit as her relationship with Uncle Peck progressed? Do you think she felt responsible for his actions?

5. After losing contact with Li’l Bit, Uncle Peck becomes an alcoholic again and divorces Aunt Mary. Even though they are divorced she continues to bring him food. Why do you think this is? Do you think she knew about his relationship with Li’l Bit?

6. The character of Li’l Bit changes ages frequently throughout the play. How would you deal with this in casting?

7. If you were staging this production, how would you stage the scenes with the car?

8. Do you think Uncle Peck genuinely loved and cared for Li’l Bit, or was he just trying to manipulate her sexually? How do you think Uncle Peck’s story about fishing relates to this?

“How I Learned to Drive” was written by American playwright Paula Vogel and premiered off Broadway in February on 1997 at the Vineyard Theater. The play received the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1998. It also won the Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, the New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play, and an OBIE. Vogel was born in Washington D.C. in 1951 and is a graduate of Cornell University. She is married to Brown University professor Anne Fausto-Sterling and now directs the MFA playwriting program at Brown. She has written many notable plays including “The Baltimore Waltz”, “Hot ‘N Throbbing”, and “The Oldest Profession”. Her writing tends to deal with sensitive, often sexual issues. She has said the she only deals with issues that have directly affected her life in some way, such as her brother’s death from AIDS in 1988. She often uses the emotions and situations of her plays to create a character. Vogel uses many theatrical devices in her writing such as dream sequences and addressing the audience directly. She wants each piece to have a distinct texture.