SOURCE: "Spalding Gray," in Acrobats of the Soul: Comedy and Virtuosity in Contemporary American Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, 1988, pp. 123-41.

Focusing particularly on Swimming to Cambodia, Jenkins emphasizes the importance of memory in Gray's work. "Memory is a recurring character in every one of his performances, " Jenkins states. "It is pitted against the dangerous human tendency to forget the past without reflecting on its meaning."

I like to think of myself as a kind of 'poetic reporter,' more like an impressionist painter than a photographer. Most reporters get the facts out as quickly as possible—fresh news is the best news. I do just the opposite. I give the facts a chance to settle down until at last they blend, bubble and mix in the swamp of dream, memory and reflection.

—Spalding Gray

Spalding Gray is a virtuoso rememberer. He takes raw memory and sculpts...