Time to Take an Intermission
PENDRAGON TAKES AN INTERMISSION
For over forty years, Pendragon has been the backbone of theatre in the Adirondacks. We have created and nourished a family dedicated to providing creative and excellent theatre for you, our audience, through performance and educational programs.
This past January, we opened Act I of the 2020 version of The Pendragon Play with a bang. Among other programs, we supported Acting and Playwriting classes for both adults and kids, the Young Playwrights Festival, a Veterans Improvisation PTSD therapeutic program with St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation Center, Puppet Workshops, partnership with ADKX (Adirondack Experience), the Winter Carnival show - Life, Love & Legends - A Rock 'n Roll Memoir - produced by Joe Dockery and work with JMZ Architects on our exciting new building project on Woodruff Street.
And then, Mid March, smack in the middle of Act I, a new character charged onto the stage, unannounced and certainly unwelcome. COVID-19. It did not listen to the director, did not pay any attention to the script, and wreaked havoc.
As in any play where things go awry, the other actors shifted their actions and speech, technicians shifted lights, sound, and scenery. While many theaters closed their doors, we jumped on the gigantic learning curve of virtual productions and carried on education and therapeutic programs as well as limited productions through Zoom. We strived to continue to give to our community that same creative and excellent theatre for which Pendragon has become so well-known.
There is just so much a live theatre company can do without a live audience. Kim Bouchard, Artistic Director, has had a tradition of saying just before each play we presented in the theatre: “We are so glad you are here! The actors, technicians and director have all worked hard to get to this point, but it is not until now, when our audience arrives, that the play can truly take off. You are the last and most important part of the production.”
We have missed you, our live audience! Without you, we are not a complete family. And so, we have made the hard, responsible decision to take a temporary intermission until it is safe and the curtain rises once again on live, in-person theatre.
As of January 1, 2021, we are on an temporary austerity budget with a furlough of staff, programs, and productions, as well as putting a temporary hold on our new building project. After the first quarter, we will determine the most responsible actions to move forward. We will regroup, both as a theatre and as a community, get this COVID-19 character off-stage as soon as possible, and return with gusto.
We hope you were able to enjoy our pre-Intermission, Holiday Show - The Best Holiday TV Special That Never Aired. It was a true labor of love, talent and commitment by our amazing staff and over 50 people in our community to give us a fun-filled evening of music, comedy, puppets and more.
We are taking a temporary Intermission so when we raise the lights on Act II - when you, our audience, return - we can move ahead together with appreciation for the strength and determination of our whole community/family. We are not just a theatre in the community. We are a theatre for the community. Art makes good communities great, and great communities even stronger. Saranac Lake is a special place and Pendragon looks forward to being a thriving part of the village’s growing reputation as the Adirondacks’ arts and culture hub.
On behalf of our staff, stakeholders, and community we are committed to adapting to new realities and at the right time and in the appropriate manner we will joyously welcome you back!
The Play will resume shortly. When it’s safe to do so. And we will put on a fantastic show.
Pendragon Theatre acknowledges--
We Can Do Better
We Must Do Better
We Will Do Better
Pendragon Theatre, as an ensemble of artists, cultural workers and community members, based in the Adirondack and North Country region of New York State, commits to examining the racism that is embedded in our decisions concerning selection of plays for our summer professional and year-round theatre, our hiring practices, our investments and our community involvement.
To that end:
The staff and board of Pendragon will grapple with the legacies of racism and oppression that persist in theatre and that are present in our region, our state and in our country.
We will be diligent in our efforts to create an artistic space that is truly committed to engaging the challenges of equity, diversity and inclusion.
We will demonstrate this with our concrete actions, not merely with words.
We stand in solidarity with our Black, Indigenous and People of Color theatre artists to name the racism that has permeated our culture and has privileged White American theatre makers.
We shall educate ourselves and reflect on our history as a cultural and community organization to understand, on all levels, how we can create and sustain meaningful change and anti-racism practices.
We invite our community to join us in this conversation and to contribute ideas, energy and resources to insure this change will take place.