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76  GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 ‘Die or survive’ era By the 1980s — what Fife called the beginning of the theater’s “die or survive era” — art house theaters had fallen on hard times. Those that remained open were mainly staying afloat by showing films of a decidedly mature nature. As written in a 1987 News article: “The Little Art’s owner, Sherpix, Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz. … operates a nationwide chain of, it must be said, X-rated movie houses, called the Art Theatre Guild.” The Little Art continued to show independent and foreign films, and in 1987, it was on the brink of closure. It was then that Clark Crites, a former Antioch College student who had managed the theater in the 1960s and had later joined the corpo- rate office at Sherpix, con - vinced the company not to close the Little Art. The com - pany instead sold the theater to Antioch College — for the reported price of $1. As the theater’s new owner, Antioch instituted a series of badly needed refurbishments. In 1990, the Little Art changed hands once again, this time bought by Jon Saari, an Antioch profes - sor who had been brought into the Little Art after its sale to Antioch to oversee its growth. Saari, who had convinced Antioch’s president Al Guskin to accept the $1 deal from Crites in 1987, made the decision to screen more mainstream films — like “Ghostbusters II” and “Pretty Woman” — to increase rev- enue. The decision was met with some controversy; echo- ing the “Better Movies Cam - paign” of 50 years before, the Community Forum page of the News saw more than one written protest. As Saari told the News, “Hollywood films help sub - sidize art films,” noting that Valley’s oldest art theater became a nonprofit. Cow - perthwaite, now Cowperth- waite Ruka and the theater’s executive director, instituted the Friends of the Little Art, where patrons could support the theater with donations and annual pledges, and a volunteer board of directors began to raise funds and help navigate the theater’s future. Emboldened by commu- nity support for the theater’s new direction, Cowperth - waite Ruka and the board launched the “Campaign to Renovate the Little Art.” After raising $475,000, the theater was able to undergo an extensive overhaul. The Little Art’s final 35-millimeter films were screened in April of 2013 before it closed, reopening in late September with a new digital projection system and a redesign of the lobby and auditorium. “This town is inordinately generous,” Cowperthwaite Ruka told the News in 2013. “This kind of renovation is beyond my dreams — but the Little Art has long deserved this.” And so the Little Art’s story goes on, with Cow- perthwaite Ruka, who has been greeting customers in the lobby for nearly half the theater’s life, still shaping its narrative. “Jenny is the meat and bones of the theater,” Fife said. “She’s played a big role in its history — she’s still playing it.” The theater’s continuing story may include future challenges — streaming movies and the ongoing pandemic, among others — but Fife said, in every piece of history she’s unearthed, the theater has always been supported by the village that loves it. “It’s not just the history of a little theater,” Fife said. “It’s the history of a community.” “box office receipts have not reflected … disapproval.” Still, film studios were taking the lion’s share of ticket sale income. Saari had instituted the sale of conces - sions in 1987 — before, only tea and coffee were offered — and now concessions sales were helping to keep the doors open. Working together with manager Jenny Cowperthwaite, Saari kept them open for another eight years before he, too, decided to sell — this time, to Cow - perthwaite, in 1998. Jenny takes the wheel By the time Cowperth - waite stepped in as owner, she had been part of the Little Art for close to 30 years — the better part of her life — and managing for two decades. “This is more than a busi- ness to me — it is like an extension of myself,” she told the News. “When people walk through the door, it’s like they are coming into my home.” Cowperthwaite ushered the still-struggling theater into the 21st century, and it continued to show movies that patrons couldn’t access at mainstream theaters. It also continued to lose money; in 2004, the News reported that the Little Art was losing $2,000 per month. “The theater wasn’t viable and [Cowperthwaite] realized that it never would be,” said Fife. So, in 2009, the Miami PHOTO: JENNY COWPERTHWAITE RUKA Staff members jam into the box office for a photo in the 1980s. From left: Andy Holyoke, David Goodman, Selwa Whitesell, Pamela Varandani (in shadow), Carolyn Bailey, Jeff Simons, Jenny Cowperthwaite (obscured) and Robin MacDonald. PHOTO: ANTIOCHIANA, ANTIOCH COLLEGE From left: Ilse Tebbetts, Jenny Cowperthwaite and Carrie Brezine at the concession stand in 1987, the year the theater began offering popcorn and other snacks for the first time.