Little Art Theatre

In 1929, Dick and Mary Denison founded what was first called "The Little Theatre." The theatre was integrated peacefully in 1942 when students from Antioch and nearby Wilberforce University staged a sit-in, planned with the help of Antioch faculty Jessie Treichler, Thomas Dowdell, and Herman Schnurer. The signature Art Deco murals mounted over the house lights in the mid 1940s were created by Antioch student Elizabeth Morss Graff. The theatre was purchased by the Art Theatre Guild of Scottsdale, Arizona, and became the Little Art Theatre in 1955. Ellen and Rod Hoover purchased the building in 1990. From 1990 to 1997, the business was owned by Jon Saari. After managing the Little Art for twenty years, Jenny Cowperthwaite purchased the business in 1998, and now serves as Executive Director. October 2009 marked a new era for the theatre, organizing as a non-profit corporation. In 2012 the Little Art Theatre Association launched a major capital campaign to upgrade and refurbish the theatre, adding digital projection and sound, greater accessibility, new seats, and improved sight lines.