Pictured from left, Liv Paulson, Terry Kemp, Chris Leifheit, Brendan Gotham and Leslie Dame depict the interrogation of Winston Smith in Pendragon Theatre’s production of “1984” in August 2017. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

SARANAC LAKE — Pendragon Theatre actors are not expected to perform before a live audience this summer.

“YOU, our audience are our priority,” says a letter from the community theater’s board President Marc Gitlitz, dated Monday. “We won’t put your health at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. So we’ve made the sad and difficult decision to cancel our 2020 Summer Season.

“But,” he added, “as I write, Pendragon staff is working on creative ways to bring theater to our community virtually. If you can’t come to our home, we’re planning innovative ways to bring entertainment and insight to yours.”

The letter is also an appeal for donations to help Pendragon pay for its “bare bones year-round staff” and heating bills.

“Leaving Pendragon ‘dark’ this summer will bring financial shock,” Gitlitz wrote. “Ticket sales, advertising, and sponsorship represent over half our annual revenue.

“If we can raise $225,000 we won’t have to furlough staff, and we can keep the heat on (low!)”

Pendragon has also been raising money to build a new theater on the corner of Woodruff and Church streets. The project has been promised $2.5 million from a state Downtown Revitalization Initiative package for Saranac Lake, but there are still millions more to raise.