Paula Vogel

Joyce Chen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PxOp5uP_XoU
http://paulavogelplaywright.com/about
About Paula Vogel
Vogel is a Pulitzer-Prize winning
playwright for her renowned work
“How I Learned to Drive”, adding
to her extensive list of awards for
her many plays. She is an
influential, writing plays to change
the way women are portrayed in
theatre. She writes about
controversial topics like, AIDS,
domestic abuse, and female
sexuality.
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 Vogel’s Life 1951-Present
◎ Born in Washington D.C.
◎ After her parents’ divorce at the age of 13, she moved to
Baltimore with her mom and brother
◎ Came out as lesbian at 17
◎ Attended Bryn Mawr College but transferred to Catholic
University of America where she graduated with a BA in 1974

https://study.com/academy/lesson/paula-vogel-biography-plays-monologues.html

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Education
◎ Attended Cornell University for her Master’s degree but left
before she finished her dissertation
◎ Worked for American Place Theatre for a year
◎ Returned to Cornell where she taught from ‘79-’82
◎ Took the directorship of the MFA program at Brown in
1985
◎ Became the adjunct professor at Yale School of Drama and
Playwright-in-residence in 2008
◎ Chaired the playwright department at Yale until 2012
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Personal Life
◎ Two brothers-
○ Carl (died of AIDS in 1988)
■ Carl Vogel Center in
Washington D.C. founded by
her father as a service provider
for people with HIV
○ Mark
◎ Married Anne Fausto-Sterling, a
professor at Brown University, in Truro,
Massachusetts in 2004 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Vogel

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Early Career
◎ Came into prominence with
her seriocomedy bou AIDS
“The Baltimore Waltz” in 1992
◎ Most known for her play
“How I Learned To Drive”
released in 1997 which was
about the impact of childhood
sexual abuse and incest

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Plays
◎ INDECENT (Tony Award for Best Play)
◎ HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Broadway production set for spring 2020; Pulitzer
Prize for Drama, the Lortel Prize, OBIE Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics
Circle, New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play)
◎ THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME
◎ THE MINEOLA TWINS
◎ THE BALTIMORE WALTZ
◎ HOT’N’THROBBING
◎ DESDEMONA
◎ AND BABY MAKES SEVEN
◎ THE OLDEST PROFESSION
◎ A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS

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Awards and nominations
◎ New York Drama Critics Circle Awards- Best Play (1997)- How I Learned to Drive
◎ Drama Desk Awards- Outstanding New Play (1997)- How I Learned to Drive
◎ The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1998)- How I Learned to Drive
◎ Obie Awards- Lifetime Achievement (2017)
◎ New York Critics Circle Awards- Special Citation (2017)
◎ Legend of Off-Broadway Honorees (2017)
◎ Tony Awards- Best Play (2017)- Indecent
◎ Tony Awards- Outstanding Play (2017)- Indecent
◎ The Lortels- Outstanding Play (2017)- Indecent
◎ Drama Desk Awards- Outstanding Play (2017)- Indecent

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How I Learned to Drive