By Adam Hetrick
05 Nov 2009
Late monologist and playwright Spalding Gray will be conjured in actress Lián Amaris' Swimming to Spalding, which will play the HERE Arts Center beginning Dec. 3.
According to press notes, "Following the map of experience described in Spalding Gray's masterpiece Swimming to Cambodia nearly a generation ago, Swimming to Spalding recounts one performer’s pilgrimage to the sites in Thailand evoked by Gray in his account of the filming of the movie The Killing Fields. Combining Gray's signature 'table and notebook' story-telling style with her own theatrical approach, performer Lian Amaris details a year of her experiences all over the world – from Bangkok brothels to Baghdad bombings, from Mardi Gras to mental institutions. Part homage, part commentary, Swimming to Spalding reflects on how beauty and grace endure amidst the cruelties of war, prostitution, mental illness, and making art."
The production features designs by Lucian Ban (sound design), Melissa Mizell (lighting design) and Angrette McClosky (set design).
Amaris' works include Fashionably Late for the Relationship, a collaboration with R. Luke DuBois. She has also presented her work at P.S. 122 and the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.
Spalding Gray won an Obie Award for Swimming to Cambodia and filmed the monologue with director Jonathan Demme. Other works include Morning, Noon and Night; Monster in a Box; Gray's Anatomy; and It's a Slippery Slope. He performed on Broadway in Our Town and Gore Vidal's The Best Man. After a series of bouts with depression, Gray took his own life in 2004 by jumping from the Staten Island Ferry into the waters of New York Harbor.
For tickets, phone (212) 352-3101 or visit HERE. HERE Arts Center is located at 145 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.
