Creating Behavior with Charlie Sandlan

It's that time again fellow daydreamers for Charlie's wife Trish Barillas to sit down for another episode of A Face of Anxiety.  Only this time Trish wanted to turn the tables, so this week she's taking over CBP to interview Charlie. Trish shares some insights and tips on navigating mental health and anxiety, and how to fight for your light.  She then gets Charlie on the other side of the mic, and as you know, Charli...

At some point you'll have to ask yourself, do you just love acting, or do you love pursuing a professional acting career?  This week Charlie has a conversation with his former student Isha Blaaker, who has answered this question. Isha talks about what he learned working with Tyler Perry, and his incredible experience bringing to life Allison Davis in Ava DuVernay's newest film Origin, based on the acclaimed book Caste, by...

Another solo episode fellow daydreamers! This week Charlie discusses the legacy of Norman Lear, thoughts on the NYC production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea with Chris Abbott and Aubrey Plaza, and the movies May/December and Past Lives. Charlie also shares some insights from the actress Sandra Hűller on how she approached playing a Nazi in the film Zone of Interest. You can follow CBP on Instagram @creatingbehavior, and Charlie&ap...

This week Charlie talks with his dear friend and grad school classmate Lawrence Ballard. Charlie and Larry discuss the use of a racial slur in a structured scene work exercise in the first year of their grad school training in 1998. The impact it had on Larry, on Charlie, and on the rest of their class is talked through with vulnerability and honesty. This is an amazing conversation about racism, white fragility, and the importance...

This week Charlie talks to his former student, actor and recording artist Ellis Melillo about her EP release Cry Wolf. Ellis went to a Brittney Spears concert with her dad at the age of five at Jones Beach. For over two decades she saw herself on that stage performing to a sold out crowd. Charlie and Ellis talk about that dream coming true when she opened for the Zac Brown Band this summer at Jones Beach. It's an incredible co...

It's another solo episode this week fellow daydreamers! This week Charlie talks about the importance of digging into the past with two silent films, Buster Keaton's masterpiece Sherlock Jr., and the 1932 cult classic Freaks by Tod Browning. There's also some thoughts on Timothée Chalamet, and Theater for a New Audience's current production of Waiting for Godot. Charlie also discusses some recent acting notes fro...

Acting is a collaborative art form, and for an actor, the most important collaboration is with the writer, the playwright or screenwriter. Their process of getting an idea to the page is no less a creative struggle. This week Charlie shares a talkback from the Maggie Flanigan Studio in NYC with Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award winning playwright Joshua Harmon. His latest play Prayer for the French Republic comes to Broadwa...

We look at age completely differently in our 20's than we do in our 50's. This week Charlie talks to his former student Gene Pope, who didn't begin serious acting training until he was almost 60. Charlie and Gene talk about the winding path that ultimately lead him into the classroom, the successes and failures along the way, and the amazing decade that has followed. Gene discusses his first major feature length film...

Time for another solo episode fellow daydreamers. This week Charlie shares one way he exercises his intellectual curiosity. Most recently, it started with an article about the playwright Jeremy O Harris, and how that led to a deep dive into the artist Kara Walker, the great fashion icon André Leon Talley, Manet, Audre Lorde, and MLK's Letter From a Birmingham jail. Charlie also shares some  advice on the issue of intensity and...

This week Charlie talks with professional film & television writer Graham Roland, whose most recent accomplishments include co-creator of Amazon's hit series Jack Ryan, and the creator of the excellent AMC series Dark Winds. Graham has been in the writer's rooms of some of televisions best shows, including Prison Break, Lost, and Fringe. He talks about writing at the highest level of the business, and what he has lear...

This week Charlie talks with photographer Jamie Schofield Riva on her new book Girlhood: Lost and Found. An artistic career unfolds in ways we cannot anticipate, but Jamie did know a few things for sure, she wanted to be a mother, and she wanted a serious creative life. Charlie and Jamie talk about how that was possible, along with a deep conversation about girlhood, womanhood, and the road to self-love. It's another fascinati...

It's a solo episode this week fellow daydreamers. Charlie talks about the importance of embracing artistic heroes, championing those artists whose artistry and courage lay a roadmap for living a significant creative life. Charlie shares his thoughts on a few of his: William Friedkin, Ron Cephas Jones, Paul Reubens and Sinéad O'Connor. Charlie also answers a listener's acting question, and highlights some important co...

There's a lot to learn about sustaining a professional artistic career, beyond the training. This week Charlie talks with his former student Kris Sidberry, who has been carving out a serious career for over a decade. Kris shares the mistakes, the lessons learned, and the need to accept that your career will most likely not go the way you had imagined. Join Charlie and Kris for a deep dive into the ups and downs of navigating a...

For our first conversation of season four, Charlie welcomes Steven Melendez, Artistic Director of New York Theater Ballet. Steven shares how his life has come full circle, now leading the organization that shaped the entire course of his life. Charlie and Steven discuss the powerful upcoming documentary Lift directed by David Petersen https://www.liftdocumentary.com/about, the impact of mentoring at risk children, and the resilienc...

Hello Fellow Daydreamers! After a five month hiatus, Charlie is back for another season. We start with a solo episode, where Charlie discusses the acting on Succession, the career of Pedro Pascal, and the importance of getting a grip on your mental health if you want to pursue a professional acting career. He also shares some thoughts on the censoring of high school theater, along with advice on how to approach emotion in your acti...

We've come to the end of Season 3 fellow daydreamers! This week Charlie wraps up the last sixteen episodes with some favorite clips from his guests. He also shares a few thoughts on Michelle Williams acting in The Fablemans, and Andrea Riseborough's extraordinary performance in To Leslie.  CBP will be back in May with Season 4! In the meantime, stay resilient, play full out with yourself, and don't ever settle for yo...

It's the second to last episode of Season 3 fellow daydreamers, so it's time for another visit from Charlie's wife Trish Barillas. It's been a year since Trish last came on CBP, and this week they discuss the past year, along with thoughts on aging parents, anxiety, and Trish's decision to let go of her frozen eggs and donate them to science. It's a wide ranging conversation about some very relatable l...

Our voice is the most intimate part of human expression. It is formed over decades of parenting, socialization, and trauma. Our physical alignment and muscle tension create the speaking pattern that we function from day to day. If you want to be a transformational actor, then you need extensive and disciplined work to unlock the way you speak. This week Charlie talks to Midori Nakamura, a designated Linklater teacher who runs the V...

It's a solo episode fellow daydreamers. This week Charlie talks about his appreciation for artists that dive into work that scares the hell out of them. He discusses Jonah Hill's documentary Stutz, the current Broadway production of Topdog/Underdog, Howard Stern's Springsteen interview, the actress Emma Corrin, and the playwright Adrienne Kennedy who at 91 is finally receiving her first Broadway production. You can f...