PUBLISHED: June 11, 2009 Advertisement
Platt has worked with the artistic directors of all three professional theatres, and is now moving ahead with a successful career in Hollywood. Platt and her husband, Yuri Lowenthal, are making their way as actors, screenwriters, filmmakers and even authors in Hollywood. The couple will be special guests at this weekend's Kids Read Comics convention in Chelsea.
Often billed as "The Power Couple of Voice Acting," Platt and Lowenthal are known for the cartoon, anime and video game characters they voice. Wonder Woman (from the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe) and Superman (from the Saturday morning series Legion of Super Heroes) are two of their well-known characters.
Some of the famous characters that Lowenthal has voiced include Kuma (Samuel L. Jackson's mini-series and video game Afro Samurai), Sasuke (Cartoon Network's popular anime series Naruto) and the Prince of Persia (video games Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Two Thrones). Platt has voiced characters in some of the same series, including Temari (Naruto) and DreamGirl (Legion of Super Heroes).
At the library's KRC convention, Platt and Lowenthal will join fans at a Friday night pizza dinner and discussion panel, answering questions about how they got into voice acting, their experiences in recording favorite characters, and upcoming projects including new roles, films they are producing, and the book they are writing together.
On Saturday, they will sign autographs for fans starting at noon. Platt and Lowenthal also will take time to chat with each person, sign everything from DVDs to t-shirts and pose for photos. Those who want a souvenir can purchase composite headshots of the actors surrounded by characters they voice.
Platt and Lowenthal will teach an afternoon voice acting workshop, and participants will be given a chance to hear their own voices played back on equipment provided by Rick Jackson of Wonder Audiobooks and the Time Traveler Web site. Lowenthal, who voices 15-year-old Ben Tennyson, will join series creator Dwayne McDuffie on a panel to discuss the animated series Ben 10: Alien Force.
Anyone coming to the convention in costume will have the opportunity to participate in a "cosplay" (costume play) contest judged by Platt and Lowenthal on Saturday night. Costumes may be homemade or purchased, and fans can dress as any cartoon, anime or videogame character they choose.
"All contestants should be prepared to show off their outfits and explain why they should win the contest," Lowenthal said.
In addition to voice acting, both Platt and Lowenthal are pursuing careers on stage, TV and film. Platt has appeared in dozens of independent films, and has been seen in such TV shows as Charmed, The Gilmore Girls and Days of Our Lives. She has starred Off-Broadway; and in Los Angeles she was directed by John de Lancie (familiar to fans for his role as "Q" in "Star Trek The Next Generation") as Shakespeare's Juliet.
Earlier this year Lowenthal was seen in a recurring role on TV's Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and he has also appeared on The Gilmore Girls and Alias. He begins filming in the fall on a new Web series, "Emissary," starring series creator Phil Morris and Battlestar Galactica's Aaron Douglas.
Although they are primarily actors, Platt and Lowenthal realize that the road to success in their business is to make your own opportunities.
"You can do anything you want to do," Platt said. "If you want to star in a movie, you can make it yourself."
The challenge of being an actor in Hollywood is to find the work you want to do and keep working steadily.
"There's power in creating your own opportunities," Lowenthal said.
In 2004 Platt and Lowenthal did exactly that, establishing their own film production company, Monkey Kingdom Productions, to develop and produce films. Recently, they completed their first feature-length film, "Tumbling After," a psychological thriller written by Lowenthal. MKP is in talks with several distributors for the film.
Having co-written several scripts, and with others penned by Lowenthal in various stages of development, the MKP team is set to move ahead. In fact, they will be filming part of their next project this weekend in Chelsea.
MKP is producing a documentary about the experiences of voice actors. Platt and Lowenthal have scheduled filming at comic/anime conventions in Chelsea, Arizona, Florida, Canada, Australia and California.
Platt and Lowenthal's fans frequently ask how one gets established as a voice actor, and the duo is always forthcoming and supportive. They have put all this information together in a book, "Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It's Like Behind the Mic," which comes out later this year. Platt and Lowenthal share their years of experience as voice actors. Topics range from how they got into voice-over acting to how the industry works to how to get started as a voice actor.
"The book gives details on working in the booth, marketing yourself, and using your natural voice qualities," Platt said.
Platt is certainly enjoying her journey and learning a lot through each experience.
While at Chelsea High, Platt starred as "Maisie" in the school's production of "The Boyfriend." She also appeared in the Purple Rose Theatre production of "A Christmas Carol" as Tiny Tim's older sister. Later, while living in New York and working Off-Broadway, she came back to Michigan to star in Performance Network's "Struggling Truths."
During her senior year in high school, Platt participated in a mentorship with the Purple Rose Theatre Co., working with Jeff Daniels and Guy Sanville under the supervision of Tony Caselli (now artistic director for the Williamston Theatre).
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