Voiceover actor heads to the theater stage

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- You no doubt have heard of Bill Ratner or at least his voice. Last year, he was the voice for the Ron Howard film, "Rush" and Tyler Perry's "A Madea Christmas." He's also the man behind the microphone for ABC7 Eyewitness News.

But Ratner has ventured out of the audio booth and onto to the stage for the annual celebration of theater known as The Hollywood Fringe Festival, which celebrates the performing arts.

This year's festival features 250 productions, including Bill's "The True Life Adventures of Barbie and G.I. Joe."

"This is a fantasy about what happens when two men inherit their parents' doll company. One does the G.I. Joes. One is strictly Barbie. And then the dreams begin," Ratner said.

Ratner said you won't know what to expect with this play, which includes a bit of history about Barbie and G.I. Joe.

"Some of the first commercials aimed at children - selling toys - were designed by professional psychiatrists and psychoanalysts working for Madison Avenue," Ratner said. "It's a history that is very strange and odd and interesting and answers a lot about why these particular dolls became so successful."

Ratner and his co-star, veteran actor Clay Wilcox, love the idea of the festival and what it offers the community.

"This offers (actors) a place to act, a place to try out new material, a place to work their chops, you know? It offers the audience just a plethora of different styles and types of shows," Wilcox said.

"It's just a wonderful, communal scene of artists who are putting on theater in these wonderful small theaters along Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevard," Ratner said.