(Mary, "Tenessee")
 

When I was in kindergarten (or maybe first grade), my class did a staged production of Carol King’s album Chicken Soup with Rice. During the title song, I played a flower being “watered” with, you guessed it, chicken soup with rice. That soup made me feel so good, I bloomed my little heart out. I flourished. I grew. I reached up for the sun and for more soup. My roots burrowed into the earth! My drooping petals were revived!! My leaves unfurled and my stem lengthened!!! I was a tremendous and beautiful flower. From that moment on I have been an incurable ham. The process of reading, rehearsing, performing a show is like an accelerated spring-time, bursting with energy and life. Everyone involved blossoms. I am grateful for every opportunity to enjoy these renewals.