HAMPTON — Nineteenth-century poet, folklorist, and painter Celia Thaxter, portrayed by actress Stephanie Voss, guides our travel across time and space in this "visit" to the Isles of Shoals. "Of Pirates and Poets" is the fifth Mainstage Production of ACT ONE's Hampton Summer Theatre program. It will run August 8—10, Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Friday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 and $18 for matinees and $18 and $22 for evening performances. Call the box office at 603- 926-2281 for ticket sales and information.

Celia, the most widely- published woman writing poetry in America in the last half of the 19th century, tells of growing up on theses magical islands (she lived with her lighthouse keeper parents on White Island), of shipwrecks and storms, pirates and ghosts. We meet the rugged fishermen who carved lives for themselves on these windswept rocks. We are introduced to the "Fashionables" who frequented the grand resort hotel on Appledore Island. The writers, artists, and musicians of the late 1800s who followed Celia to her island garden also appear, reminding us of the creative retreat that Thaxter's generous spirit and warm hospitality engendered.

Celia described herself as "a lonely child, living on the lighthouse island ten miles away from the mainland, every blade of grass that sprang out of the ground, every humblest weed was precious in my sight, and I began a little garden when not more than five years old." Ms. Voss perfectly captures Celia as a celebrity, mother, artist, and, of necessity, principal supporter of her family.

Celia's first poem, "Landlocked" (written after she moved to Newtonville, Mass., after her marriage) submitted by her husband to the March 1860 Atlantic Monthly without her knowledge, became an instant success and has been in print and anthologized ever since. Ms. Voss' portrayal of Celia gives immediacy to one aspect of the poet's life as described in the last verse:

Earth! Thy summer song of joy may soar
Ringing to heaven in triumph. I but crave
The sad, caressing murmur of the wave
That breaks in tender music on the shore.

Stephanie Voss is known to area audiences through her years of participation as a member of Theatre by the Sea's professional acting company in Portsmouth, as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts in California, the Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Mo., and the Nickerson Theatre in Norwell, Mass., among others. This production toured historic and civic theaters across New Hampshire in 1998 to critical acclaim and warm reception by audiences wherever it went.