Altman to Premier a Play of Anxiety, Joy

“You Can’t Keep Living This Way,” a comedy that examines everyday joy and disparity through a quirky lens, premieres Friday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 25, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. all at Westmont’s Porter Theatre. The play is free and open to the public.

“I wanted to explore the complexities of families by really nuancing each character in their own unique way,” says Westmont senior Mia Taylor Altman, who wrote and directs the play. “I like working in a slightly exaggerated world that in its subtleties reflects things that are deeply true about our everyday anxiety, dreams and expressions of love.”

The play features student actors Micah Anthony, Danee Kaltenbach, Jezeel Real, Sam Gee, Sean McElrath, Leslie Duggin, Shanna Cooley and Josh Martinez-Davis.

“I hope that everyone walks away feeling that they’ve experienced something honest, witty and worth reflecting on,” Altman says. “It really is a work that’s close to my heart and brings me joy everyday working on it. It’s amazing to get to send that joy out into the world.”

After graduating from Westmont this May, Altman hopes to continue playwriting, directing and stage managing. “Theater has been the art that’s taught me the most about what it means to live fully human, and I can’t imagine myself willingly leaving it any time soon,” she says. “The creative heartbeat and deep spiritual fulfillment of the theater, and everyone in it, has given too much for me to simply keep it all to myself anymore.”