In 1985 a few dynamic, aspiring local actors and playwrights knocked down some walls in an old nightclub and mounted a production of Ionesco's Rhinoceros. It was just a one-shot event, or so they thought. More than 23 years, 120 productions and dozens of World, American and New England premieres later, WHAT has built a national reputation for its professional Equity productions, for its provocative choices and its intimate explorations.

The Mission of Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in Wellfleet, Massachusetts is to present professional quality theater to its audiences; to provide an alternative theater experience not found elsewhere in the region; to advance and preserve the art of the theater for the education and appreciation of the public.

WHAT seeks to be a good neighbor, to be of benefit to the economy of Wellfleet, its restaurants, galleries and shops, its working people and its retirees, its residents, non-resident homeowners and its visitors. WHAT seeks to be an active and contributing part of the entire Cape Cod Community.

With the opening of WHAT's new theater in June, 2007, WHAT has developed year-round programming; May thru November productions to draw audiences from the Cape area and beyond. It will also carry on its Summer Season programs at its original Harbor Theater and at its WHAT For Kids tent. During December through April WHAT will continue to develop and implement programs to enrich the lives of adults and children.

To accomplish its mission, WHAT endeavors to find interesting and provocative works of high quality and to recruit artists with the skill, imagination, and vision to realize those works in production. It also provides an apprenticeship program for aspiring theater professionals and a summer intern program that provides younger people with an exposure to the workings of live theater.

The Who, What, How, and Why of WHAT
By Dan Lombardo, WHAT Dramaturg

Pre-Historic WHAT

For a time, the Outermost Cape Performance Company appeared in theatrical productions at the Catholic church in Wellfleet. Gip Hoppe, Dick Morrill, Kevin Rice, Dan Walker, Vicky Shepherd and Laurie Swift worked as OCPC until they lost both their performance space and their acronym, which some thought stood for either a confederation of Soviet states or a compulsive disorder.

1985

The group, understanding that theater is, in fact, a compulsive disorder, changed its name to WHAT. The company moved into the paint can and kitchen appliance-strewn rooms next to Uncle Frank's on the harbor beach. The actor/carpenters knocked down walls and put on their first show. Actor Bobby Rosser recalls, "I come from New York, and when I first came to Cape Cod, I saw an ad that this place called WHAT was doing Ionesco's Rhinoceros. I thought, 'How dare some small theater company presume they can do Rhinoceros?' So I went to see the show. At first, I couldn't find the theater. When I did find it, I took one look at the building and thought, 'Maybe I better go home.' But I didn't. I bought a ticket and was floored by what I saw. The only problem was that there was a cutout of a window on the set, and every time a car went by, the headlights flashed in our eyes."

1987

Jeff Zinn sees the first play of the season, Greater Tuna. Zinn joins the company and directs the last play of the season, Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind. He had made his off-Broadway debut as "Danny" in David Mamet's Sexual Perversity In Chicago, and his Broadway debut in The Suicide with Derek Jacobi. Zinn made his film debut as John Travolta's legs in the iconic opening scene of Saturday Night Fever (you could look it up). His New York directing credits included new plays at Ensemble Studio Theater, The West Bank Cafe, Theater for the New City and as a member of the Circle Rep Lab.

1990s

Actor Jerome Davis recalls, "I spent three of the most wonderful summers of my life in Wellfleet in the early nineties. The energy and enthusiasm of the people at WHAT was combustible. Jeff's drive and political awareness, Gip's humor and his passion for his subjects and all the wonderful 'regulars' at that little gray box of a theater on the harbor make it a place that I return to often in memory."

WHAT produces several World Premieres by playwrights Gip Hoppe, David Rabe, Michael Klein, Kevin Rice, Frank Speiser, and The Five Lesbian Brothers. New England Premieres included plays by John Patrick Shanley, Paula Vogel, Sam Shepard, Mac Wellman, and Tracy Letts.

2001

WHAT receives the prestigious Eliot Norton Award for "Establishing a Beachhead for Serious Theatre on Cape Cod."

Jeff Zinn announces a Capital Campaign for "a permanent home for Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater and a year-round cultural center in Wellfleet."

The company offers New England Premieres by Carter L. Lewis, Eve Ensler, and Lee Hall, and a World Premiere by Gip Hoppe.

2003

WHAT receives an Eliot Norton Award for "Outstanding Production by a Small Visiting Company," when Gip Hoppe's A New War is transferred to Boston.

2004

Stephen Russell, an actor with the company since 1987, begins WHAT for Kids, writing and directing hits like, The Three Sillies, The Very Sad Tale of the Late Mr. Stiltskin, Xenia Hedgehog's Academy of Etiquette for Naughty Boys and Girls in Nine Convenient and Easy Lessons, and Daisy Crockett, Frontiersperson!

Boston Magazine chooses WHAT as "Best Theater" in its annual "Best of Boston" issue. Shrewdly, it does not point out the distance between Boston and Wellfleet.

2007

In June, WHAT dedicates its new state-of-the-art, 220-seat theater with three gala opening nights. Jeff Zinn directs the first play, Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House.

On Saturday, June 23, a gala opening night features a cheering ovation for Julie Harris as she kneels onstage, kisses her hand, and slaps the floor to dedicate the Julie Harris Stage.