Alexander Westerman is an American

creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He began his career as an art director in 1991. Where he studied at

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He is an executive creative director at OpusLA In 2016.

Career

Westerman started out as a prop master and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

. Westerman's experience ranges from television to movie and theater productions. He was an executive in charge of development at Bona Dea Productions, a production executive of The Weissberger Theatre Group, and an assistant to producer Fred Zollo for one year. In 2000, Westerman left his job at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

to found a start-up called RadicalZoo. RadicalZoo was to be a destination for independent filmmakers. RadicalZoo folded in 2003. Westerman joined the staff of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

in 2004 and went on to create award-winning sites and applications for the company. Westerman lead the team that created

Nicktropolis Nick.com is a website owned and developed by Nickelodeon. The website previously served as an online portal for Nickelodeon content, and offered online games, Streaming media, video streaming, Internet radio, radio streaming and individual website ...

the award-winning and much loved virtual world. In 2009, Westerman left Nickelodeon to become

Creative Director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...

Worldwide Marketing and Communications for

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

. In 2007-2008, Westerman created an

Adobe Air Adobe AIR (also known as Adobe Integrated Runtime and is codenamed Apollo) is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applicatio ...

application as an Adobe launch partner. The application was the first game to be created using the air runtime. The game allows users to engage in a scavenger hunt, collecting jig saw puzzle pieces and assemble and solve the puzzle offline in the Air runtime. In 2012 Westerman joined

Guthy-Renker Guthy-Renker ( ) is a California-based direct-response marketing company that sells health and beauty products directly to consumers through infomercials, television ads, direct mail, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, and the Internet. Many of i ...

as head of digital creative. In 2015 Westerman joined

Spark Networks Spark Networks SE is an American-German dating company with a portfolio of brands designed for singles seeking serious relationships. These online dating brands include Zoosk, SilverSingles, EliteSingles, Jdate, ChristianMingle, eDarling, JSwipe, ...

as head of creative. Westerman is also the publisher of a popular amusement park and roller coaster website; ThrillNetwork.com. ThrillNetwork is large community dedicated to provide news and information about the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

industry. The site contains one of the most comprehensive databases of statistical data on almost every park and ride in the world.

Personal life

In the spring of 2014, Westerman married David Gleason, senior vice president of research for E! and

Esquire Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...

Early work

Westerman's background is diverse. He was classically trained as a ballet dancer studying at The

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

in New York. While attending Ithaca College, he choreographed ballets for the dance school, two of which were critical successes: La Belle et la Bete and Flight of Icarus. In 1989 Burt Supree of the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

reviewed Westerman's performance and choreography as a member of The Saga Dance Company. At Nickelodeon Westerman served as Production Director of ''

''. Nicktropolis is

massively multiplayer online game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...

and

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

that is part of

Nick.com Nick.com is a website owned and developed by Nickelodeon. The website previously served as an online portal for Nickelodeon content, and offered online games, video streaming, radio streaming and individual websites for each show it broadcasts. I ...

. Transformers Game - A

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

Game and area, based on the popular

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

toys, is being developed. Teams will compete for Nickpoints and prizes. Game players will have to choose which team to join, evil DECEPTICONS or the noble AUTOBOTS? These two opposing teams will battle it out for control of the elusive Energon Cubes. The area will contain brand new rooms, features, and gameplay, this is sure to be the next evolution of games in Nicktropolis.

Involvement with REDCAT Theater

In 2017 Westerman accepted a position on the

REDCAT Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts center for innovative visual, performing and media arts in downtown Los Angeles, located inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Opened in November 2003 ...

( Roy and Edna Disney/

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bot ...

Theater) COUNCIL having served as a Circle member from 2010-2017. As a council member Westerman has presented the following productions: Christiane Jatahy: What if they went to Moscow?

The Wooster Group The Wooster Group is a New York City-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged from Richard Schechner's The Performance Group (1967–1980) during the period from 1975 to 1980, an ...

: THE B-SIDE: “Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons" A Record Album Interpretation, A PINK CHAIR (In Place of a Fake Antique),

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

The Designated Mourner ''The Designated Mourner'' is a play written by Wallace Shawn in 1996, which was adapted into a film directed by David Hare in 1997. The film, which follows the play's script closely, is based on the original London stage production directed b ...

The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amiable ...

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

and The Town Hall Affair.

Awards for associated websites

Webby Awards The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...

2010 - Online Games - Mattel.com/games *

2008 - Social Networking - Nicktropolis.com *

2008 - People's Choice Best Youth Site - Nick.com *

Parents' Choice Award The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...

2008 - Nicktropolis.com *

2008 - Nick.com *

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...

2007 - People's Choice Best Youth Site - Nick.com * In 2004, ThrillNetwork.com was named

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

Summer 2004 Best of the Web Pick.

Selected projects

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

Believe.com

ChristianMingle.com
*

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have ...

JDate Jdate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks, Inc. Because of the focus on relationships between Jewish singles, Jda ...

JLife

Mattel.com
*

* NickMail *

Proactiv Proactiv is an American brand of skin-care products developed by two American dermatologists, Katie Rodan and Kathy A. Fields, and launched in 1995 by Guthy-Renker, a California-based direct marketing company, that is endorsed by famous celebr ...

ThrillNetwork.com
*

TurboNick Nick.com is a website owned and developed by Nickelodeon. The website previously served as an online portal for Nickelodeon content, and offered online games, video streaming, radio streaming and individual websites for each show it broadcasts. I ...

Selected theater and filmography

* Out of the Box (The

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

: Season 1 and 2) * Peroxide Passion (T. Michael Film) * Hit and Runway (Lot 47 Films) * Surprise (The NY Picture Company) *

Pilot “BUS # 9” (MTV Networks) * Frongs for Snakes (The Shooting Gallery) * The President's Christmas Tree (Shochiku Entertainment) * Hell's Kitchen (Kushner-Locke Company) *

The Substance of Fire ''The Substance of Fire'' is a play by Jon Robin Baitz. Overview Isaac Geldhart is a survivor of the Holocaust. He arrived in New York City an orphan, reinvented himself as a bon vivant, married well, and found fame and fortune as a champion of au ...

(Miramax) *

Mississippi Burning ''Mississippi Burning'' is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI ...

(

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

) *

Oleanna (play) ''Oleanna'' is a 1992 two-character Play (theatre), play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual harassment and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being acc ...

(Samuel Goldwyn) *

Naked in New York ''Naked in New York'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Daniel Algrant and starring Eric Stoltz, Mary-Louise Parker, Ralph Macchio, Jill Clayburgh, Tony Curtis, Timothy Dalton, and Kathleen Turner, and featuring multiple celebri ...

(

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

) *

Quiz Show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

(

Hollywood Pictures Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...

) *

Broadway Bares Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is an American nonprofit organization that raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States, headquartered in New York City. It is the theatre community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ...

VI - Less Is More

References

External links

Official Website
*
ThrillNetwork.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerman, Alexander 1969 births Living people American art directors Creative directors American LGBT businesspeople Gay men LGBT people from New York (state) Ithaca College alumni New York University alumni George School alumni 21st-century LGBT people