At The Vanguard

Can we separate the art from the artist?

More importantly: should we?

In this episode of At The Vanguard, Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala explores one of the most emotionally charged and philosophically difficult questions in modern culture. Through the lenses of art, morality, psychology, history, and human flourishing, this episode examines whether colla...

Why aren’t you getting cast?

In this episode, I share what I’ve learned from sitting on both sides of the audition table—as a performer, pianist, and evaluator watching hundreds of auditions.

Most performers focus on the wrong things. They treat auditions as isolated events, obsess over details that may or may not matter, and overlook what casting teams are actually evaluating.

This episode breaks down the bigger ...

In this episode of At The Vanguard, I sit down with married artists and educators Christine Negherbon and Joe Abraham — Broadway performers, directors, choreographers, college professors, and co-founders of The Thriving Artists.

From national tours of Hairspray, Shrek, and The Little Mermaid to directing Spring Awakening, choreographing new works, and shaping the next generation of performers through MTCA (Musical Theatre Com...

In this episode of At the Vanguard, I’m joined by my friend Christopher Sepulveda, a Los Angeles–based film and theatre producer whose career spans independent film, commercial theatre, new-work development, Deaf West Theatre, and emerging technologies like VR and AI.

Christopher demystifies the role of the producer—one of the most misunderstood jobs in the entertainment industry—and walks us through what pr...

In this episode of At The Vanguard, host Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala sits down with Jason Paige—best known as the voice behind the iconic Pokémon theme song—for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about art, autonomy, community, and what it really means to build a creative life.

While Pokémon fans will appreciate Jason’s firsthand account of recording the theme song, its unexpected cultural afterlife, ...

Honor. Cherish. Invest. | A Better Way to Start the New Year

The start of a new year often comes with pressure—resolutions, reinvention, and the feeling that you’re already behind before you’ve even begun.

This episode offers a different approach.

Rather than goals or hype, I share a simple, grounded framework for orienting yourself in the year ahead—one that respects how growth actually works and leaves roo...

The holidays can be beautiful. They can also be lonely, tender, complicated—and quietly revealing.

In this solo episode, I reflect on what the holiday season tends to bring to the surface: longing, grief, connection, memory, and meaning. I talk about spending my first Christmas without both of my parents, about chosen family and evolving traditions, and about what it means to move through this season as both an artist and a h...

In this episode of At the Vanguard, host Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala sits down with Caden Douglas — writer, director, producer, and instructor at Bad Pitch Writers Lab — for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about the craft of writing and the realities of making work in today’s film industry.

Caden shares his journey from a childhood acting career in Canada to becoming a writer-director in Los Angeles, in...

Art is born from freedom—but artists don’t create in isolation. We collaborate, perform, teach, and share vulnerable spaces with others. Without trust, accountability, and ethical grounding, the work—and the people making it—can suffer.

In this solo episode, I examine a challenging but essential question: Do artists need a code of conduct? I introduce The Consummate Artist’s Code of Professional Conduc...

In this episode, I sit down with the remarkable Ed Freeman — a musician, arranger, producer, photographer, ceramicist, and now AI artist whose creative journey spans more than five decades and some of the most iconic moments in American music and art.

Ed shares how he went from studying violin as a child to arranging for Carly Simon and Gregg Allman, producing Don McLean’s legendary American Pie album, and even serving ...

In this powerful and unflinchingly honest conversation, musician and storyteller James Byous shares the full arc of his journey—through addiction, sobriety, bipolar disorder, creativity, and the relentless pursuit of meaning.

James opens up about the terrifying manic episode that led to transient psychosis, the therapist who helped ground him during the crisis, and the profound onstage experience that reshaped how he performs...

Artificial intelligence has become one of the most defining—and divisive—topics of our time. For artists, it sits at the crossroads of excitement and anxiety: a powerful new tool full of possibility, but also a force that raises profound questions about authorship, originality, and the future of human creativity.

In this episode of At The Vanguard, we do something different. Instead of hearing more opinions about AI, we...

In this episode of At The Vanguard, host Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala sits down with Michelle Loucadoux and Kristin Deiss, founders of Danscend — a groundbreaking organization bringing mental wellness education to the dance world.

Together, they unpack the myths and realities of mental health in the arts, exploring why toughness and compassion are not opposites, how the dance industry can evolve beyond tradition, and wha...

Tomasina Abate is a powerhouse vocalist, songwriter, and creative visionary whose career has spanned Disney’s Tomorrowland stages, arena crowds, and independent artistry. In this conversation, she opens up about the courage it takes to stand alone, the cost of excellence, and why real artistry begins the moment you stop asking for permission.

We talk about: • Building a cult-favorite band at Disneyland and redefining what it ...

Welcome to At The Vanguard, a podcast about elevating the arts and empowering the artist in each of us.

In this inaugural episode, host Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala shares the story and philosophy behind The Vanguard Institute for the Arts — a bold movement dedicated to creativity, mindfulness, and artistic excellence. Through reflection and hard-won insight, Christopher invites listeners to rediscover the art within the...

Deaf actor, motivational speaker, and athlete Sarah Tubert joins host Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala on At The Vanguard for a deeply inspiring conversation about art, identity, and resilience.

From voicing Lucita in Disney’s Primos to captaining Team USA at the Deaf Olympics, Sarah shares how creativity has been her bridge between worlds — and how breaking barriers in entertainment can start with one powerful questio...

Welcome to At The Vanguard — a show about elevating the arts and empowering the artist in each of us.

Hosted by musician and educator Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala, this podcast explores the creative spirit through conversations with artists, thinkers, and innovators who are redefining what it means to lead with vision and create with purpose.

In this trailer, Christopher introduces the mission behind At The Vanguard and ...