Creating Behavior with Charlie Sandlan

If you are an actor,  you've probably stressed a lot about this question. What's my type? On this weeks solo episode, Charlie talks about how you should consider this question, and some ways to keep it from filling you with anxiety. Charlie also shares his thoughts on the importance of Nadine Labaki's film Capernaum, and the Cuban artists who are literally risking their lives to give voice to the fight for freedom. And he confesses his love for Ted Lasso, Shmigadoon, and the amazing documentary Summer of Soul. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

The imagination is the most important part of an artist's instrument. For the actor, activating and stimulating your imagination is the key to keeping you from the prison of conventionality. Actor's who are weighed down by practicality and pedestrian habits will always struggle to be  interesting. This week Charlie talks to one of his mentors, the master teacher Lenard Petit. Lenard has been teaching the work of Michael Chekhov for almost forty years, and has been activating actor's creativity all over the world for decades. Lenard and Charlie talk about archetypes, how the body deals with emotion, and what it means to be an actor who radiates. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

Toby Sandeman was one of the best sprinters in England.  He was a two-time gold medal winner at the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships. After a successful modeling career, when Toby decided to dedicate himself to the craft of acting, he brought with him his athletic work-ethic. He has been grinding out a professional acting career for the last ten years. Now he plays series regular Symphony Bosket on the new STARZ Power prequel Raising Kanan. Charlie and Toby talk about his new show, his first on-set experience playing Prince Sebastian on The Royals, and the many triumphs and heartbreaks of living a committed life. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

It's a solo episode this week fellow daydreamers. Charlie shares his thoughts on Kevin Can F&%K Himself, Bo Burnham's Netflix special Inside, and Lin-Manuel Miranda's apology for colorism in his film In the Heights. He also catches you up on his home life, Julianne Nicholson's acting in Mare of Easttown, and even reads you an Elzabeth Bishop poem. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

Mackenzie Lansing's excellent work in HBO's hit Mare of Easttown playing the bully Briana Delraso, wouldn't have been possible when she first came to NYC to pursue a professional acting career. What happens when you deny yourself the permission to function from your authenticity, from the fullness of who you are? Mackenzie talks about her journey of coming out of the closet professionally, and how prizing her truth changed the entire course of her career. Charlie and his former student also discuss what she learned from working with Maggie Gyllenhaal on The Deuce, how she prepared for her breakout role, and the importance of taking control of your audition. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

Charlie talks with Gavin Larsen, a Prima Ballerina who retired in 2010 after a two decade career working at the top of the profession. Her new memoir, Being a Ballerina, is a love letter to artistry. An extraordinary insight into the beauty, the heartbreak, the passion, the struggle, and the incredible dedication it takes to live a creative life. What does it mean to be obsessed with your art? What does it take to sustain a multi-decade career? What is artistry?  Charlie and Gavin talk about those questions, and look at what separates those that do just enough to get by, and those who soar to the top of their art form. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

It's a solo episode this week fellow daydreamers. Charlie shares some thoughts on the damage that excuses do to our self-esteem and confidence, and how they erode our ability to achieve anything substantial. How many of you feel sabotaged by your excuses, find yourself feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, or stagnate? Charlie talks about looking at the fear of failure and of the unknown, those insidious insecurities that are the foundation of the excuses we put into the world. Charlie also shares his appreciation of Mare of Easttown, the brilliance of Jean Smart, the photographer Geloy Concepcion, and a few other things that have piled up on his desk. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

Richard Robichaux is one of the funniest actors working. He is also one of our best acting teachers, currently the endowed Chair of Acting at the acclaimed MFA acting program at UCSD, one of the most prestigious graduate schools in the United States. Charlie and Richard discuss his twenty-five year career with memorable roles in Ocean's 8, Bernie, Boyhood, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, The Book of Love, and his current hit show on Disney+ Big Shot opposite John Stamos. What did he learn working with Michael J. Fox, Cate Blanchett and Shirley MacLaine? Why is acting only a small part of what it means to be a professional? Charlie and Richard discuss all of this along with a refection on the art of comedy. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

Have you ever been unsettled coming upon a tall, muscular black man tattooed from head to toe with piercings through his nose, lips, and eyebrows? Might you avert your eyes and cross the street? Buckle up for this episode fellow daydreamers.  Don't let Charlie's former student and friend Antino Crowley-Kamenwati  fool you. He is one of the most interesting, sensitive and fascinating actors Charlie has ever taught. Antino's journey to becoming a well-trained professional actor is the subject of this incredibly personal episode. Charlie and Antino discuss how he survived two years in prison, a career as a porn star, his provocative performance art, and overcoming a difficult childhood as a young gay teen.  You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. For written transcripts, Charlie's blog, or to contact him for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com

For an actor, the ability to relate off-camera or off-stage to the previous circumstance of a scene is an essential fundamental of your craft. How can you harness the ability to daydream and fantasize to your artistic process? How can you develop the skill to alter your emotional life, to access a deeper, richer level of insight in a healthy and creative way? In this week's solo episode, Charlie shares with you the lecture he gives his students who train at his NYC conservatory program, the Maggie Flanigan Studio, on this very sensitive area of the actor's technique. If you have the desire to take on major roles, complicated nuanced human beings in the midst of profound cirumstances, then mastering the art  of emotional preparation is a must. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie's NYC acting conservatory, the Maggie Flanigan Studio @maggieflaniganstudio. Theme music by  https://www.thelawrencetrailer.com. For written transcripts, to leave a voicemail on SpeakPipe, or contact Charlie for private coaching, check out https://www.creatingbehaviorpodcast.com