October 18, 2007 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
Only Hill-area movie theater yet to find audience
The “Little Theater” is empty, but sounds like it’s packed. The opening act plays with panache. Bruce Springsteen’s gritty voice saws through the speakers as his E-Street Band sways in staggered formation. They look so real, but they’re not. They’re pixels and bytes; they’re sound and light. They’re portable, transferable clusters of information, and for all we know, they could be playing for a fragmented audience of thousands all over the U.S. — on iPods and laptops and plasma TVs. Betty Ann and David Fellner are aware of this, yet they insist on anchoring the data stream to a real commercial setting, a 25-seat theater appropriately called “Little Theater” in the Mount Airy Video Library, 7157 Germantown Ave. They bought the video store three years ago from the original owner, Whit Schilling. “The community defines itself largely by its business district,” David tells me. “Community life in the United States is done in malls, in stores. That’s where you run into your neighbors.” Indeed, it’s “First Friday” in Mount Airy, and Germantown Avenue is bustling with people. Next door, in what used to be the ticket office of the Sedgwick Theater, art lovers are sipping wine and eyeing paintings. Although art appreciation is surely an objective, the potential sale is ultimately the purpose. Betty Ann and David own the Sedgwick, as well as the Video Library, North by Northwest and a few other Mt. Airy properties. Financial well-being is important to them, especially as they near retirement (Betty Ann is 68 and David is 62), but they say it’s just as important to invest in the community — even if it’s a money-losing venture at times. There’s no way they’ll break even tonight. The licensing fee for Knocked Up would suck up half their revenue, even if they filled the seats. No one came to the 7 o’ clock show. One woman has arrived for the 9 o’clock show. She shuffles through the aisles of DVDs and gives Nick, the teenage cashier, her $5; then she follows Springsteen’s voice into the theater. A few other customers wander to the back. Betty Ann can’t persuade them to watch the movie, but she invites them to sit down for a few minutes and check out the theater anyway. Betty Ann doesn’t say it, but I know what she’s thinking: they may not stay for this one, but they’ll be back. Maybe she’s right, but finding a consistent audience has been a problem since she and David opened the theater in April. Sometimes they sell out—as they did with Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, but it’s hard for them to predict how many patrons will come to any given show. Still, they’re willing to take a risk on some movies most theaters would never dream of screening. Films are screened every Friday and Saturday evening, generally at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m., but those times may vary according to the length of the movie; the movies range from comedy to drama to documentary. Recent movies include Little Miss Sunshine, Zodiac, An Inconvenient Truth, Letters from Iwo Jima and Lives of Others. Some movies are American, others are foreign language films; some are winners of film festival awards and Oscars; others have received critical acclaim but little theater exposure. Last week, they screened Ten Canoes, an Australian film that won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Although the audience was small, many of those who watched it told Betty Ann that it affected them deeply. The Fellners say that independent films like Ten Canoes may not have mass appeal, but their artistic merit warrants risk. The Fellners started the theater because there weren’t any in the area. Davidsaw a need and wanted to fill it. The closest movie theater to it is the Main Street Manayunk multiplex, which is less than five miles away, but we all know it takes way longer than 11 minutes to get there from Mt. Airy. The Fellners know there is a wider audience for art-house films, but they’re not yet sure how to reach it. David admits that they’re not marketing effectively yet. Because the law does not permit them to buy display advertising in newspapers for general releases like Knocked Up, they are mostly relying on word-of-mouth and their Web site to promote screenings. Even with highly praised independent releases like Ten Canoes the task is daunting. When I suggest that they try Craig’s List or a social-networking site like MySpace to advertise, the Fellners are intrigued by the idea, but they confess they’re novices with these regions of the Web. David admits he is looking for someone a bit younger, perhaps 30-something, to take over the operation. He’s looking for someone with technological savvy and vision, someone who can use the theater in new ways to forge communities of viewers. Until he finds this hero, David is mulling some of his own ideas for the theater. He is planning to build more theaters, but he’s not sure when. He says there is ample space in the Sedgwick, which could accommodate another six. David knows the expansion doesn’t guarantee that more people will come to the movies, but he thinks it’s a crucial step. More theaters could draw people from Chestnut Hill and Germantown, he insists. But again, he recognizes that effective marketing is the key to gaining their loyalty. Food service is his primary idea for achieving this end. The Little Theater already gives away popcorn with each ticket, and customers can buy Bassett’s ice cream at the Video Library’s concession stand. So maybe, David says, offering a dinner theater would lure more people. He imagines an intimate ambience, with people watching movies from dinner-table chairs or booth seats while they eat. But, he says, that’s just one of many potential ways to use the theater space. Community businesses like the Weaver’s Way Co-Op and Two Rivers Mediation have rented the theater a few times for private screenings. The Fellners have also hosted birthday parties in the theater. Betty Ann says she’s interested in holding a media literacy workshop someday. Although the Video Library is part of a “dying industry,” David sees hope for the Little Theater. Perhaps people will soon grow tired of their iPod isolation. The signs on the street in front of the Video Library are encouraging. The “First Friday” scene makes it seem that people are yearning for community — or at least for free booze and cheese. For more information about upcoming movies, call 215-247-3020 or visit www.mtairyvideolibrary.com
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