Oh my goodness.
So before I get into my monologue,
I just want to talk a little bit about what happened when I got here.
I was one of the very first people to arrive on site,
so the staff were kind of still setting up, getting their bearings.
And when I was directed towards the actors’ Green Room,
I walked into the orchestra's Green Room.
So I walk in there, I go, ‘Wow, there's a lot of instruments in here
and there are no actors.’
And I was just waiting for someone to say, ‘You're late, Where's your violin?’
But I quickly made my exit and got out of there.
All right, here's the monologue.
Star Trek's core ethos has always been to unite people
of different backgrounds, races and creeds in pursuit of a common goal.
Perhaps no Star Trek series has embraced this more than Star Trek: Voyager,
marooned in the Delta Quadrant, forced to combine crews with an enemy ship
and manned by one of the most diverse array of species seen in Star Trek.
The U.S.S. Voyager has its work cut out for itself.
In the captain's chair is Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew.
Janeway represented the first time
a female captain occupied the lead role in a Star Trek series.
When the show debuted in 1995, and on behalf of Kate, I'm going to say,
‘Thank you.’
In contrast to its predecessor, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,
Voyager returned fans to the engineering rooms and bridges of a starship
and Janeway proved to be an iconic leader who managed to command her crew
through some of the most uncertain times ever witnessed by a Starfleet vessel.
For many fans, Star Trek: Voyager became, and still is, a refuge.
The stakes may be high in the far reaches of space,
but the Voyager family's journeys through romance, friendship
and understanding make up the true soul of the show.
More than any other Star Trek series,
Voyager shows us that there's a place for everyone on the bridge.
Whether you're a wayward Talaxian debris-field scavenger, a former member
of the Borg Collective, or a young ensign fresh out of Starfleet Academy,
there's always a spot for you on the Voyager crew.