He has been acting since high school and spent four years at Florida Gulf Coast University studying theatre and working on productions. Thirteen years after graduating, Armando Rivera is an award-winning artistic director running a Boston-based company. In fact, he’s so immersed in the world of the stage that Rivera conducted his FGCU360 interview in a dressing room while working as an understudy for a show.
He wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“One of the most impactful things about theater is that it’s an active exercise,” Rivera said. “The audience is a participant in the creation of the art as it’s happening. You have this rare, ephemeral thing that even a recording won’t capture.”
That feeling is one Rivera has been chasing since high school, when he unexpectedly realized he loved being on stage.
“One of our friends said he couldn’t hang out after school with us anymore because he was doing a play. So we decided to audition for the show so we could be back on the same schedule,” he said with a laugh. Six months into Drama Club, he was hooked.
Finding community in theater
Now, Rivera is a founding member and co-artistic director of Teatro Chelsea, a bilingual Latin company. The stage is set in a 100-seat black box theater, much like the FGCU TheatreLab he spent many hours in as an undergraduate.
Lately, he said he has taken on more of a producer role, helping keep the company’s finances and operations running smoothly. He is happy to deal with spreadsheets and grant applications to be part of the local community he loves.
“I’ve found this deep appreciation for creating work that is for a community,” he said. “I have the privilege of being able to hire people and to make work for fellow artists. It’s been an amazing thing to redefine the Boston theater scene and make Latino work undeniable.”
Rivera’s success is not a surprise to Anne Carncross, a Bower School of Music & the Arts professor who taught Rivera and has followed his career from his start as a reenactment actor for Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum to where he is today.
“He was always a go-getter, a sponge,” Carncross said. “He’s one of those special students that comes only once in a while that you can tell right away they’re gonna make it in the craft because of that dedication and hustle.”
FGCU’s technical training was key
The time he spent learning about the behind-the-scenes operations of a production with Carncross became the foundation for his current work, Rivera said.
“All those practical skills, like operating a lightboard, building a set, using power tools — knowing all of that has really helped me as a theater maker and a producer,” he said. “I joke that I use those skills way more than I use any of my acting skills.”
He does still make time for acting and directing.
In fact, in 2025, Rivera won an Elliot Norton Award for outstanding director from the Boston Theater Critics Association. He was nominated for the same award this year, but another director won. Being a nominee alongside people he has looked up to in the theater world is an honor, Rivera said.
“It’s a gift to have these moments where I realize that the people who were my role models are now my peers,” he said. “That’s a crazy thing to feel. I’m in the room!”
Look for opportunities to collaborate
Teatro Chelsea produces two contemporary shows and a play festival each year. At the end of the festival, the company selects one play to stage as a world premiere. Rivera enjoys making those opportunities happen for fellow artists, and his advice for FGCU students who want to succeed in any field is to look for chances to build their own opportunities.
“Embrace the things that are a part of you, your passion points. Those will bear fruit — they just take work,” he said. “I have been so deeply rewarded by embracing my heritage, and the universe has said, so far, ‘yes, keep going.’ Make those opportunities. If you don’t see it out in the world, make it happen.”
Carncross encourages students pursuing creative careers to take a page out of Rivera’s book and seek opportunities to work one-on-one with professors.
“Anything you can do alongside your professors is going to benefit you in the long run. They’re going to take extra time and extra effort with you because you’re showing up,” she said. “That’s exactly what happened with Armando. He kept showing up. He was able to learn so much more about the craft because he put that time in.”