WELLFLEET HARBOR ACTORS THEATER
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Contact: Mark Hough
Telephone: 508-349-9428 x111
E-mail: mark@what.org
For Immediate Release
WHAT expanding its vision and reach, led by a new executive director
Wellfleet – Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, which began a quarter century ago as a tiny, eclectic summer theater group near Wellfleet’s fishing pier, will transition this year to a state-of-the-art, year-round, performing arts center eager to reach out to the Lower and Outer Cape’s communities – and beyond. The restructuring plan agreed to by its board and newly named Executive Director Mark Hough will complement WHAT’s internationally acclaimed summer theater productions with local and national productions, as well as community events.
Hough - who brings a 30-year career in the theater to his new role at WHAT - was named executive director this week. In coming months, WHAT will be expanding its programming and scope to better reflect the region’s changing population and tastes, while fulfilling the vast potential created by its world class, 220-seat, $6.8 million stage, public area and art gallery on Route 6 in Wellfleet. The new stage was championed by WHAT’s long-time benefactor and chair emeritus, Carol Green, who has been instrumental in building the organization into a world-class theater.
“We will always be true to our historic roots as a cutting edge theater, committed to the most adventurous directors, actors and playwrights,” said Hough. “But, that is just the foundation for an ambitious expansion of our vision and mission to include year-round programming in all the arts to serve a more diverse community.” Hough already is planning new partnerships with other arts organizations on and off Cape Cod that reflect a spectrum of music and performance– from film to opera and ballet to rock, choral, cabaret, jazz and folk. In addition, WHAT is reaching out to community organizations, business partners, visual artists, school districts and amateur theater groups. Its large stage and theater seating also will be available for other public and private events – from business meetings to social functions.
“Until now, we did not have the resources or staff to extend our vision beyond the summer and some off-season programming like our very successful simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera,” explained Hough. “Now that WHAT’s board has hired its first executive director and a new dynamic development director, Courtney Watson, we are poised for a very exciting expansion.”
Hough brings a wealth of arts management, production and development experience to his new job. He has been an adjunct professor of arts management at Yale University, New York University and Christopher Newport University. He also was CEO of the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Before that, he was chief development officer at the Whitney Museum of American Art and development director for the Manhattan Theater Club and the American Ballet Theater. During his years at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Hough collaborated on many productions, both on and off Broadway, including: Donald Margulies (Sight Unseen, The Loman Family Picnic Collected Stories), Richard Greenberg (Three Days of Rain), Arthur Miller (The Last Yankee), Athol Fugard (Playland & Valley Song) John Patrick Shanley (Four Dogs and a Bone, Doubt & Psychopathia Sexualis), Stephen Sondheim (Putting it Together), Sam Shepard (Eyes for Consuela), Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion! [1995 Tony award for best play] & A Perfect Ganesh), August Wilson (Seven Guitars) and A.R. Gurney (Sylvia). He has worked with some of America’s finest actors including Laura Linney, Kevin Spacey, Mary-Louise Parker, Christine Baranski, Sarah Jessica Parker and Julie Andrews. Hough has also produced theater and dance at the Spoleto Festival USA, Lincoln Center Festival, American Repertory Theatre, Guthrie Theater and other renowned theaters throughout the country.
In addition to WHAT’s three stages – the original 90-seat, summer-only harbor location; the new, year-round Route 6 Julie Harris Stage; and the summer WHAT for Kids tent seating 110 on the Route 6 campus - the upper lobby area is home to the WHAT Gallery, where many notable artists have presented their work each year. With an inaugural gift from local sculptor Ernie Bauer, a sculpture garden is springing up on the Route 6 campus, providing a public space for local artists.
Hough and the board envision exporting WHAT into the local schools for theater education and bringing more local productions to the stage throughout the year. “Our outreach also involves our business community and government leaders,” said Hough. “We have created a Corporate Circle, and are inviting business leaders to share their visions for a regional performing arts center that not only will enrich the arts, but also enhance economic development. We represent a $6.8 million stake in the economy. It is critical that we maximize that investment. Frankly, it’s something we can’t do alone; we must listen carefully, and continually reach out,” he emphasized.
“With all the wonderful jobs I have had in the performing arts field, few represent as entrepreneurial and exciting a prospect as WHAT,” said Hough. “For one, it is on Cape Cod, which is such a rich artistic environment and populated by so many art-loving residents, second homeowners and visitors. Many people moving here full time or as second homeowners value the region's rich artistic and educational resources, and it’s our job to meet their expectations, listening carefully to their wide tastes in all aspects of the performing arts.”
“Then there is the opportunity to become a cherished resource for the entire community, while contributing to the region's economic development." Hough said. “The local community helped to build this theater building. It belongs to them, and we hope to create quality, varied programs that will attract everyone to come in and experience this place in a whole new way." Many of these plans already are underway – even amid the remaining summer season for the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, whose long-time artistic director Jeff Zinn is departing in October.
“I have been endowed with a 27-year legacy of the finest, cutting edge theater in America,” said Hough. “To that, I owe a huge debt to Jeff Zinn and his many collaborators over the years. With that as a firm foundation, WHAT will be growing in coming years to become a welcoming environment for as many tastes as we have audiences on Cape Cod.”
