美国国家公共电台 NPR--Storytellers at a Los Angeles planetarium join the union representing Broadway actors

Storytellers at a Los Angeles planetarium¹ join the union representing Broadway actors

Transcript²

The planetarium lecturers at Griffith Observatory³ in Los Angeles have unionized. They hope that doing so will help preserve their longstanding tradition of live storytelling.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The union representing Broadway actors added some new card-carrying members this week. They're a group of performers who are not themselves stars, but who tell stories about them. NPR's Andrea Hsu shares their story.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE⁴: If you grew up in Los Angeles, you likely had a school field trip to the planetarium at Griffith Observatory. Michael Faulkner, a Shakespeare actor, has an unusual job here. He's part of a small corps⁵ of people who tell stories about the history of the universe, unraveling the mysteries of the night sky. He's been doing these shows for years, and still he finds it magical to walk out into the auditorium⁶ to the soundtrack.

MICHAEL FAULKNER: When the lights go out and the stars appear, the theater erupts in this whoa.

HSU: There are 12 lecturers like Faulkner at the planetarium. They've been talking about unionizing since 2019, hoping for a raise and a voice. But in the pandemic, things got more urgent.

FAULKNER: There was just a whole lot of uncertainty⁷ about what the future held.

HSU: The whole observatory was closed for more than a year. As they look toward reopening, Faulkner says he feared the live storytelling might not return. Their employer, the city of LA, was in financial straits due to the pandemic, and other famous planetariums⁸ in Chicago and New York City had long been using recordings⁹. When Faulkner saw "Journey To The Stars" at the Smithsonian here in Washington, D.C., it was narrated¹⁰ by Whoopi Goldberg.

FAULKNER: No offense¹¹ to - I love Whoopi Goldberg, but she wasn't in the room with me. It was her recorded voice. And it's just not the same.

HSU: To his relief, when the planetarium reopened, the lecturers were brought back. Faulkner says that was thanks to the observatory's long-serving director, but he may retire soon. And there are other threats.

FAULKNER: I mean, with the advent¹² of AI, I've even now seen videos that aren't narrated by an actual human being (laughter).

HSU: Al Vincent Jr., the executive director of Actors' Equity¹³ Association, says the union has been hearing from lots of different performers since the pandemic who all want the same thing - more protections on the job.

AL VINCENT JR: You know, folks are just like, wait a minute, you know, I matter and I want better.

HSU: Last summer, all 12 planetarium lecturers signed union authorization¹⁴ cards and asked the city of LA for voluntary recognition. It was not a contentious¹⁵ process, but it has taken many months. This week, the Los Angeles Employee Relations Board finally certified¹⁶ the union. While there is no guarantee that their jobs will always be there, Faulkner says having a union to make the case for live storytelling will make a difference.

FAULKNER: It's a dying art (laughter). And having a union contract with the city will codify¹⁷ it as something of value.

HSU: Something they can now collectively fight for.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

1 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 planetariums   

n.天文馆( planetarium的名词复数 )；天象仪

参考例句：

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

10 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

13 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

14 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

15 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

16 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

17 codify   

v.将法律、法规等编成法典

参考例句：

• The noble,Dracon,was asked to codify the laws.贵族德拉古被选为立法者。
• The new government promised to codify the laws.新政府应允要编纂法典。