Recently, I was able to get together with Maureen Lovejoy to discuss her role in the the Outlaw series of games as well as who she is..

OA: First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Let us start off with some introductions. Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Maureen: Hi! I'm pleased to be able to answer some questions for you. Let's see...well, I'm a native and resident of the Los Angeles area, and have also lived in New York City. I have voiced characters in several video games, and I'm also a singer. I love playing video games, so it was a natural fit to voice characters for them. When I'm not doing voice over work, I am a substitute teacher for elementary school. (Unfortunately, I can't always tell the young kids which video games I do voices for, since their parents might not appreciate being told by their sweet little ones, "Hey, Mom, that character who's wearing almost no clothing and spouting off sexual innuendos and drug references all over this game...THAT'S my teacher!")

OA: How did you get into the Outlaw series?
Maureen: I've worked with Dave Pitlik and Brian Kahn (writers of the brilliant and biting dialogue in the Outlaw games) on several projects, as well as with the recording engineer, Steve Epstein of ThirdPath Studios. When the time came to call in voice talent to audition for the first game, thankfully they thought of me, and not in a creepy, hand lotion sort of way. (The game people who did the final casting obviously had excellent taste when they chose to hire me for the Outlaw series!) :)

OA: You are the voice to Outlaw's sexy stripper with the Ph.D, Summer. What is that like?
Maureen: Voicing Summer is an absolute blast. It's great to frame the character with her trademark sultry and brazen attitude, but then to be able to also throw in some witty and smart comments reflecting her intelligence just makes it that much more fun (AS IF THAT'S WHAT YOU ALL PLAY HER CHARACTER FOR...her witty dialogue!!). She's not the typical air-heady, sexy bimbo that you see in so many other video games, and that makes her much more fun to develop-she's got more layers to explore. I can thank Dave and Brian for coming up with some really great dialogue for Summer, which makes it much easier to jump into her character. I can't tell you how often we all crack up while recording the scripts in the studio, as the characters come to life and take shape. Sometimes the characters have a life of their own, and we're all surprised at what comes out of our mouths when recording (dialogue, that is--get your minds out of the gutter!)

OA: Not only do you do the voice of Summer, but you also lend your talents and voice Shawnee and Harvest. Do you find it difficult voice acting three different roles?
Maureen: Not at all. They are three very different characters, so it's pretty easy to go in and get into the vibe of whichever character I'm voicing at the time. (That said, I'm no Max Koch, who can voice 100 different characters without blinking an eye, and be hysterical in each and every one of them!)

OA: Out of the three (Summer, Shawnee and Harvest), who is your favorite to voice?
Maureen: That's a tough one. I have a particular fondness for both Summer and Harvest. I have a blast being blatantly brazen and sarcastic as Summer, but I also really enjoy being the bouncy, spacey, drug-loving, hippy Harvest. Let's just say those two allow me to show two very different sides of my...talents. Not to belittle Shawnee, who is also fun, but after recording for a couple hours a character who is pretty much a bipolar and schizophrenic Native American, I leave feeling pretty exhausted. Not to mention that Shawnee is one of the characters that's a bit tough on the voice-all that yelling. (BTW, you may not know this, but I also voiced the character of Trixie in one of the Outlaw games, I think it was Volleyball. It was a character that could only be accessed by downloading it through Xbox Live. I think she ended up sounding a bit too much like Harvest, which is why they recast her for the later games. My buddy, Lisa Kushell, did a great job taking over that role. And another bit of Outlaw Trivia-Lisa was actually the voice of Summer in the very first Outlaw Golf game, but they recast me in the role for the subsequent games. What goes around, comes around, I guess. We traded roles!)

OA: In any way, is there a character in the Outlaw series that reminds you of yourself?
Maureen: If you're trying to get me to admit to being a lesbian stripper and drug-addled space-case, you are SOL, my friends. Wild horses couldn't...well, you know!!!

OA: I understand that you are a singer and do some voice work for children edutainment (educational entertainment) materials. What is that like?
Maureen: Yeah, I've sung in a variety of venues. I've been the lead singer of a band that's played around L.A., toured nationally in musical theater, and recorded in a variety of vocal styles. Who told you about the children's edutainment??? PITLIK, your ass is mine!!!! Yes, I have indeed sung on a few kids' CDs. My favorite is for a series of books called Sammy Rabbit, which have songs and CDs that go along with the books. I've done a few for that company, and it's always a blast. It's like I get to go in and be a child (as if that's a stretch!) again. I just get to goof off and have a good time. Some kids' music is really lame, but the guy who writes the music for S.R. rocks.

OA: What are your thoughts on the Outlaw Addicts website?
Maureen: I think it's great that there's a place where everyone can get together and share their obsession with this series of video games. I really believe it's fans like you who have kept the Outlaw series going. When a game gets a following of true blue, loyal fans, it makes the game companies want to produce more. You guys rock!

OA: In a recent interview with fellow Outlaw voice actor, Max Koch; he describes the Outlaw voice actors as, "one big family". Do you share the same opinion as Max?
Maureen: Absolutely. A lot of us know each other from other projects. Some of us even see each other socially outside the recording sessions. It's great to be able to fall back on how comfortable we are with each other when we're recording. That way we can really let go and go out on a limb and take crazy chances when doing characters that interact, such as Summer and Autumn. Lisa Kushell, who's a friend of mine, is so funny in that part, it makes it that much more fun to act off of. I have tremendous respect for the talent pool involved in these games-they're a twisted, f*%$#ed up set of crazy bastards, and I love them.

OA: Maureen, it was a pleasure. Before we conclude, do you have anything to plug or someone to say hello to?
Maureen: Nah, I won't bore you with any of that. But thanks for asking. It makes me feel like you really care... (sniff sniff).

Outlaw Addicts would like to thank Maureen Lovejoy for taking the time out for this interview. It was real nice getting to know her and we wish her the best in everything she does.