Rehearsals Begin For Synapse Theatre Co’s How I Learned to Drive

The Synapse Theatre Company announces that rehearsals are now in full swing for Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, How I Learned to Drive.

Ms. Vogel's work centers around Lil' Bit, a young girl growing up in Maryland in the 1960s. Trying to find her place in a world where she is sexualized by friends and family alike, she turns to the only person who is kind to her, her Uncle Peck. Peck, scarred by combat and alcoholism, becomes a father figure to Lil' Bit and struggles to reconcile his feelings toward her as both a mentor and a lover. Paula Vogel sends Peck and Lil' Bit on a dark coming-of-age exploration of love, control, and boundaries as Peck eagerly awaits Lil' Bit's 18th birthday and Lil' Bit demonstrates How She Learned to Drive.

Lenora Spahn is cast as Li'l Bit, a role similar to her most recent turn as Una in Blackbird, a performance critics called "excellent in her ability to bring complexity to the role. Ms. Spahn is simultaneously both provocative and vulnerable." Award-winning actor Craig Miller returns to Synapse as Uncle Peck, having starred in the company's staging of Graham Farrow's Talk About The Passion earlier this year. He has also recently appeared in Edward Albee's Seascape and Paddy Chayefsky's The Tenth Man at the American Century Theater.

Noted character actors Larry Levinson, Dana Medford, and Carol Randolph complete the cast as How I Learned to Drive's Greek Chorus. Each plays an array of different roles embodying Li'l Bit's past experiences and indelible memories.

Kathe Park directs How I Learned to Drive for the second time. "I so admire the play's sense of compassion and forgiveness. I am beyond pleased to have the opportunity to revisit this brilliant show, especially with a cast as strong as this one."

How I Learned to Drive performance dates are September 9-11, September 16-18, and September 23-25 at Slayton House in Columbia, MD at 7:30 on Friday and Saturday and 2:00 PM on Sunday, with a pay-what-you-can preview on September 8th.