Just eight years ago, Macon Little Theatre was on the verge of shutting down, hobbled by debt and still bleeding money.

This week, the theater paid off the last of its debt after increasing revenues and cutting expenses. One reason for the turnaround? Screws.

“We’ve got some screws back there older than I am,” guffawed Felder Frederick, 72, who builds most of the sets.

Screws that hold sets together are backed out and reused, along with the lumber they had held together. One platform and set of stairs was reused for three shows in a row -- the stairs were moved around so the different shows didn’t look the same -- saving money.

“We don’t reinvent the wheel anymore,” theater manager John T. Jones said.

Jones said Macon Little Theatre took on the debt because of major problems, such as a leaking roof and a failed air conditioning unit.

The borrowed money, along with a Peyton Anderson Foundation grant, let the theater make improvements that kept the doors physically open, saving the theater in one sense. But the debt and spiraling expenses threatened to put it out of business.

In the middle of 2002, the theater told the Internal Revenue Service it had a deficit for the year -- what a business would call a loss -- of more than $67,000. Just five years later, it reported an excess -- what a business would call a profit -- of more than $36,000.

Jones said he’s inspired by Mamie Chestney, who took over the theater at age 60 in the middle of the Great Depression, and led it successfully through World War II.

She’d sought unused wartime coffee rations from her friends so patrons could sip from the theater’s little demitasse cups at intermission.

“If she could do all that to keep this going, we couldn’t take any step backward,” Jones said.

And so black duct tape covers holes in the theater’s old ceiling tiles, where the squirrels get in.

A rug covers floor tiles that could trip someone.

Some of the theater’s actors now make their own costumes, raiding their closets or visiting Goodwill.

Other costumes come from the theater’s collection. The theater rarely rents costumes.

Instead of one director on staff, guest directors get a stipend and no benefits, at about a quarter of the cost.

Gas is disconnected most months, cutting off hot water for the sinks but slashing utility bills dramatically.

There are fewer lavish musicals each year. Rights for shows such as “Annie” are cheaper and draw big crowds.

In short, Macon Little Theatre has been finding a middle ground that’s much cheaper.

“There are little things we do, but I don’t want to go out and ask somebody for money if we could save money,” Jones said.

“Now people trust us, because we save money. They feel good about giving to us.”

The last of the debt was paid with a challenge grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. To get the $15,000 grant, the theater had to pay off about $23,000 in debt since September 2009.

Jones said he wants other improvements such as refreshed exterior stucco, which would help keep the squirrels out, a new lobby floor and a ceiling without duct tape.

He would also like new dimmers for the stage lights, which also need rewiring, and he dreams of a larger women’s bathroom, so intermission wouldn’t have to be so long.

Jones wants the theater to work without extravagance.

“I’ve never failed to be able to pay the bills over the last couple years, and that feels so good,” he said.

To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-4251.