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Glenn Alterman is a professional
career consultant, audition/monologue coach, college lecturer, published writer,
award winning playwright, internet journalist, and actor.
He has guest lectured and taught at
such diverse places as The Governors School For The Arts
(Old Dominion University), The School For
Film and Television, Star Map Acting Studio of Long
Island, The Edward Albee Theater Conference (Valdez,
Alaska), Southampton College, The Dramatists Guild, The
Learning Annex, The Screen Actors Guild, Western
Connecticut State College, in The Boston Public School
System, and at many acting schools around the country, as
well as privately coaching hundreds of students.
Published Works
His published works include: NEW:
The Perfect Audition Monologue (Smith
and Kraus), Two Minutes and Under - Volume 2 (Smith
and Kraus), An Actor's Guide - Making It in New York
City (Allworth Press), Creating
Your Own Monologue (Allworth Press), Promoting
Your Acting Career (Allworth Press), 100
Acting Jobs For Actors (Smith and Kraus), 100
Day Jobs For Actors (Smith and Kraus), Two
Minutes and Under (Smith and Kraus), Street
Talk- Original Character Monologues For Actors
(Smith and Kraus), Two
Minute Monologs (Meriwether Publishers), Uptown
(Smith and Kraus), What To Give Your Agent For Christmas
(Smith and Kraus), and the upcoming 101 One Minute
Monologues (Smith and Kraus) and the second edition of
Creating Your Own Monologue, Volume 2 (Allworth
Press). All
of his books have all been Doubleday Book Club (Fireside
Theater, Stage and Screen Division) “Featured
Selections”.
Plays
His plays have been performed or received honors and
awards at The Actors Theater Of Louisville, Circle In The
Square (Downtown), Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons,
LaMama, Beverly Hills Rep, Pittsburgh New Works Festival,
Circle Rep., Bloomington National Playwrights Project, The
Three Genres Playwrights Competition, HERE Theater, The
Turnip Festival, Weissberger Competition (New Dramatists),
Deep South Writers Conference, George R. Kernodle Contest,
Showtime's Act One Playwrights Contest, The Samuel French
One-Act Playwrights Competition, The West Bank Café, on
Theater Row in New York, and at many other theaters all
over the country.
His latest full-length play, "Solace,"
recently had its world premiere at the Circle East Theater Company (Michael Warren Powell, Artistic
Director). Circle East was instrumental in the development of the play during the last two years.
Currently, "Solace" has productions in Munich,
Berlin and (upcoming) Amsterdam. Previously, the play had a highly acclaimed reading in
London.
Commissioned Works
His commissioned works include Heartstrings, The National Tour, commissioned by The Design
Industries Foundation For Aids. He wrote the book for the
musical that toured the country (35 cities). The cast
included Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Reeve, Susan
Sarandon, Ron Silver, Marlo Thomas and others.
Kiss
Me When It’s Over was commissioned by E. Weissman
Productions. It starred and was directed by Andre
DeShields.
Present film options include Like Family (Red Eye Pictures) and The Danger of Strangers (Nucleus Films).
Acting
Glenn
Alterman has been a working actor for over 30 years.
He has worked extensively in film, TV, and on the
stage. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic
Arts in London, received a B.S. in Theatre from Emerson
College, and has been trained by many of the top acting
teachers in New York.
Background
Information
What follows is the story of how I started writing
monologues and eventually became a monologue coach and
career consultant. If this interests you, please read
on. If not, you can go directly to the Coaching
or Consultations page.
- Starting Out: Monologues, Books, Productions
I've been a working actor for over thirty years. About
16 years ago I became a writer, more specifically, a
monologue writer. After spending countless hours
trying to find that "perfect" audition
monologue, I decided to try to write my own. I had
practically NO CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE. It was
hit and miss at first. But finally I
completed my first monologue ("Sal", later
published in my book, Street Talk). I
brought this monologue into acting class and the response was
overwhelmingly positive. I knew I was on to
something. After a few more monologue successes, I
decided to start writing monologues on a regular
basis. What followed was a long and sometimes
frustrating period of trial and error. Some
monologues really flew, others crashed and burned.
Eventually however, I started to realize that by
utilizing my acting skills I could write powerful
audition-winning monologues. During this time, I
also wrote my first one-person show (which was later
produced regionally). I started developing certain
techniques, skills, and even short cuts for writing
monologues. During the next year I turned out well
over 100 monologues. I began having readings of the
monologues. These readings grew into productions of
"monologues plays". The monologues became
very popular among actors both in New York and Los
Angeles. In the next 5 years, I had four #1 best
selling original monologue books published: Street Talk,
Uptown, Two Minutes and Under (Smith and
Kraus Publishers), and Two Minute Monologs
(Meriwether Publishers). Much of what I learned
during those years is discussed in my book, Creating
Your Own Monologue (Allworth Press).
- Coaching and Teaching Begins
About 8 years ago, I began coaching actors on
writing and performing their own material. Much of
what I taught came directly out of my own personal
experience combined with the SPECIFIC NEEDS OF EACH
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT! It's important to note that
almost all of the actors I've ever worked with have had
LITTLE OR NO CREATIVE WRITING EXPERIENCE. All of my
students have gone on to use their monologues for
auditions or to perform their one-person shows off-Broadway,
in regional theatres, and in community theatres all over
the country. The success rate has been very close to
100%.
- Becoming an Audition Coach (Working with Actors
with Previously Prepared Material)
I realized that there were also some actors who did not
want to write their own material for auditions.
About 5 years ago I began coaching actors who needed help
finding effective, audition-winning monologues.
Here, the coaching session was not based on creating new
material, but rather on understanding the (prepared)
material, and then making the strongest choices possible
for the upcoming audition.
In the last few years, I've been working regularly with
actors who need coaching specifically for important
upcoming auditions. Using the audition script
(sides) we first analyze what the scene is about, and then
decide what are the best choices the actor can make.
Many of my students have gone on to win roles on Broadway,
off-Broadway, on daytime dramas, and in motion pictures.
Writing Promoting Your Acting Career
I decided to write my book, Promoting Your Acting
Career, after noticing that many of my actor friends,
although very talented, were constantly unemployed.
While on book and lecture tours, I was amazed to learn how
few actors knew anything about the "business" of
acting. There was a notion, I discovered, that if
you have talent, study, go to every audition, and pursue
your dream with a fervor you'll "make
it". Many actors seem to believe that if
you're really talented, someone will somehow mystically
"discover" you. The truth of the matter is
"show business is a business!". And like
any business it must be approached with a strategy, a game
plan, and the proper artillery. I worked on
Promoting Your Acting Career for over two and a half
years, interviewing hundreds of casting directors, agents,
managers, and successful actors. What I discovered
were the essentials to making it in this industry.
All of that information, combined with my 30 years as an
actor (in New York and Los Angeles) is what I bring to
each and every coaching session. The consultations
always begin with what the actor needs. We discuss
where he or she is at and where they eventually want to
be. The consultations are totally personalized.
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