STARS ON THE BEACH, STARS IN THE SKY
by Lucretia Voigt
It's a good time to be on Nantucket. Never mind the humidity, the black flies, and the vigilant mold - we have stars in abundance this week!

"If music be the food of love, play on." William Shakespeare's ghost, or at least his legacy, is making an appearance on Nantucket beginning this weekend. If you know anything about the early Globe theatre, you know that the "general admission" seats were a kid's dream come true. Running around, eating, and general wildness were common practices among the audience. While I don't recommend telling your kid that this is the way they should act at the theater, it does give you a sense that Shakespeare is a playwright for all ages.

Nantucket is fortunate to have a talented group of actors performing "Twelfth Night" this next week for free at Children's Beach. Outdoor theater is a wonderful way to introduce your child to classic plays. Bring a blanket, a couple of pillows, and a soft-sided cooler with some drinks and snacks. Try to get there a little early so your child can run around and play on the playground before the show starts and get that out of his system. By showtime he'll be ready to sit and listen.

In order to help your children get the most out of the play, it helps to give them a little refresher on the plot of "Twelfth Night" prior to the play. If you need a little refresher, too (it's okay - high school English was a long time ago), there are some great books that make Shakespeare accessible even to those of you who go catatonic at the mention of Will's name.

A great choice for middle school ages is "Shakespeare: His Work & His World" by Michael Rosen and Robert Ingpen. The illustrations are classic oil paintings and give the reader a sense of the time in which Shakespeare wrote. The authors not only explain Shakespeare's writing, but put it in context with the world around him and his life. Your middleschooler will not be able to put it down, and it will probably spark their interest about the 16th and 17th centuries in which Shakespeare wrote.

For the elementary school age, "William Shakespeare & the Globe" by Aliki takes the reader through Shakespeare's life and times and brings it current with the construction of the new Globe playhouse. Every page is filled with numerous illustrations to keep your child interested. The writing introduces your child to the topics without bogging them down with too much information, and the author sprinkles quotes from the plays throughout the book.

For everyone, from picture book age to adults, "Tales From Shakespeare" by Tina Packer is a refresher course of the plays which would have been useful to most of us during our own school days! There is a brief introduction to Shakespeare's life, but the bulk of the book consists of condensed stories based on each of Shakespeare's plays. It is a good book to take to the play and read to your children prior to the performance.

While the "Shakespeare By The Sea Festival" takes place from August 12 through August 18, the best shows for child attendance are the free shows at Children's Beach on August 12, 13 and 14 at 6 p.m. For information regarding the other activities, you can check out the Nantucket Arts Council website at www.nantucketartscouncil.org.

Another chance for star viewing this week is the Perseid Meteor Shower. The Perseid Meteor Shower is an annual event that takes place in mid-August when the Earth passes close to the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet. The flashes in the sky we see are the pieces of debris from this comet discovered in 1862.

This year the best viewing will be in the early hours of Monday, August 13. Viewing is best in areas with minimal surface lighting, and on Nantucket we are blessed. Being 30 miles out in the ocean does have its perks! You can view the meteor shower while relaxing on a blanket on your favorite beach, or even from your backyard. When bringing children, however, remember to plan ahead and bring some snacks. Once they finally wake up, they'll probably be hungry.

From 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Monday, August 13, the Maria Mitchell Association is hosting "Open Morning for Observations of the Perseid Meteor Shower" at the Loines Observatory, 59 Milk Street. The cost for non-members is $10 for adults and $6 for children, and half that amount for members. If your child is an impatient one and your astronomy skills are a little rusty, the Observatory is the way to go. Once again, bring some hot chocolate and snacks. Your child will have less time to be cranky and is sure to see a memorable show.

The only thing left for you to do

is pray for good weather! I