Yaitza Rivera: Director, Producer, Writer, Actor, Comedian
Introduction to Yaitza Rivera-Jiménez. 0:48 sec. Interview: Raymond Elman. Post-Production: Lee Skye. Music: Tony Succar, Recorded via Zoom: 2/6/26, Miami-New York City.
Yaítza Rivera-Jiménez is a Puerto Rican director, producer, writer, actor, and comedian. She received her BA in Drama from the University of Puerto Rico and a scholarship to attend the Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles, where she studied the technique for three years. Rivera-Jiménez has directed over 15 plays in PR, LA, and NYC. Among her most notable productions are: Eugene O’Neill’s “The Hairy Ape,” two productions of Tennessee Williams’ “Suddenly Last Summer” (one in the Botanical Garden of her University) and Moises Kaufman’s “The Laramie Project” at the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles. The production she directed of Caridad del Valle’s “Delirio Furioso” at the Producers Club, NYC was critically acclaimed and nominated for Best Production at the Artistas Teatro Independientes (ATI) awards. She was co-founder of two theater companies in PR, Verosímil Inc. and Cihel Inc., theater administrator of Teatro Coribantes in PR, and member of LA company, Theater 68. Rivera-Jiménez has also directed two short films. Her short, “Red Poppies,” was an official selection in many festivals including the SoCal Film Festival (where Rivera-Jiménez won Best Director), DC Shorts, and the Puerto Rican Heritage Festival in New York.
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The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 16 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 4:58 min.
Five minutes of stand-up in New York City.
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:40 sec.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?
SERENDIPITY: 0:44 sec.
What was your first awareness of the performing arts?
UNDERSTANDS ARTISTS’ NEEDS: 0:40 sec.
When you were young and watching many movies at home, would you watch movies that were made before you were born?
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:05 min.
When did you move from Puerto Rico to the mainland?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 0:41 sec.
When you moved to the mainland, were you already speaking English well enough that language wasn’t a challenge?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 4:45 min.
Tell us about your history with Bertolt Brecht and this particular play that you are directing, “Fear & Misery in the Third Reich.”
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 15:40 min.
You are a director, producer, writer, actor, and comedian. Tell us about the evolution of your various skillsets.
DEVELOP A VOICE: 2:51 min.
Tell us about your experience with making movies.
CRITICAL THINKING: 4:26 min.
Anecdotally, it seems like your generation is much more attracted to horror films than my Baby Boomer generation. How do you account for that?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 4:18 min.
Tell us about your evolution as a stand-up comic.
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 2:29 min.
Who are some of your favorite comedians?
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:00 min.
What’s your favorite movie?
