Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater Announces Julie Harris Scholarship Recipient

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is pleased to announce that Nauset Regional High School graduate John Mulholland is the first recipient of its Julie Harris Scholarship. This scholarship was established in 2014 to recognize outstanding contributions in the theater arts and to aid in the continuing education for an individual pursuing a career in theater.

John came to NRHS as a sophomore. By the end of that year he had auditioned for and been accepted in NRHS Director of Drama Judy A. Hamer's Honors Acting class. In her letter of recommendation, Ms. Hamer wrote, "the diversity of characters [John] is able to play on the stage speaks to his careful consideration of the characters, his observation of people around him and his understanding of human nature."

Mulholland will be attending Reed College in Portland, Oregon in the fall. "I decided on Reed because its intellectual environment is challenging and rigorous but also less individual driven and more team and group oriented, and the small size and scale of the school was appealing," Mulholland told WHAT.

Mulholland will be majoring in an interview disciplinary program of literature and theater at Reed. "I've always had a fascination with writing and telling stories, and I have written two plays," he said. "I would like to further pursue my interest in this art through college and beyond, taking any opportunity to make a career out of playwriting or screen writing.

Julie Harris was an American stage, screen, and television actress. She won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. Ms. Harris received ten Tony Award nominations, more than any other performer. Like Mulholland she was a writer, contributing largely to the script of "The Belle of Amherst." In 2000, Harris appeared at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in Martin McDonaugh's "The Beauty Queen of Lenane." She regularly attended performances at several theaters on Cape Cod and in 2007 allowed WHAT to name their state of the art stage after her. In gratitude for this and the generosity of her will, WHAT and its Board of Trustees set up the scholarship as a way of honoring her legacy at WHAT and on Cape Cod.

The scholarship will be awarded Tuesday, July 28th at 5:30pm at WHAT's 2015 summer Gala, The Players Ball: Caribbean Edition. Broadway producer John N. Hart, Jr. and WHAT Executive Artistic Director Jeffry George will present the scholarship.

For more information on the scholarship, please contact Jeffry George at jeffry@what.org or 508-349-9428 x105.

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is the award-winning theater company that inspired "a new vigor for theater on the Cape" (New York Times). In honor of the theater's namesake, Julie Harris, WHAT continues to be a sounding board for new and bold ideas, presenting "continually adventurous theater" (Boston Globe), and year-round programming.

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