<span>Spalding Gray was an actor and writer who specialized in performing monologues. The monologue is a theatre form in which a single actor delivers an extended speech. In most theaterical productions, the purpose of a monologue is to reveal a character's inner thoughts to the audience or, sometimes, to provide exposition. In Gray's performances, by contrast, the whole work was a monologue and he was the central character. The effect, as in the literary form of the personal essay, was to bring society and current events into focus by presenting them through the lens of the artist.</span>
