DANIEL HRBEK (Theatre director and managing director of Švanda Theatre) (29 July 1971) was born in Olomouc, Czech Republic. He began his first acting engagement in the North Moravian Theater in Šumperk (1989/90) and then in the Moravian Theater in Olomouc (1990/1991). He was then admitted to the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU). He graduated with a B.Sc. in acting and M.Sc. in directing. In 2006, he completed his doctoral studies in Theater Theory at Prague's DAMU and received his Ph. D. He worked at the Na zábradlí Theater (1993-1995) in Prague as a member of their acting troupe. He left the Na zábradlí Theater for the Celetná Theater (Prague), where he founded the generational theater “CD 94”. In it, he worked as an artistic director, actor, director, author, and co-author of theater scripts. In 1999, he won the competition to become the director of the Labyrinth Theater in Prague (today's Svanda Theater in Smíchov, Prague). Together with architect David Vávra, he carried out a successful reconstruction of the theater building in Prague’s Smíchov, and since 2002, he has been building a modern cultural center for live art in the space. Daniel Hrbek also defended his position as director in the selection process at the end of 2012. At Svanda Theater, he has directed productions such as AI: When Robots Writes a Play, Lieutenant of Inishmore (M.McDonagh) Protest/Rest (V. Havel), The Boss of it All (L.von Trier), Course in Negative Thinking (Bard Breien), Shoah (D. Hrbek, T. Hrbek) The Good and the True (D. Hrbek, T. Hrbek, B. Daniels)  Krakatit (K. Capek, D. Hrbek, M. Kinska), Macbeth (W. Shakespeare),  Killing Johnny Glendenning (D.C. Jackson), and others. In addition, he directs in the hospitality industry at the Theater in Vinohrady (N.V. Ostrovskij, The Forest), the A. Dvořák Theater in Příbram (Moliére, Tartuffe; O. Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest), and others. His production The Good and the True, which he directed and co-wrote, was an international success in London, Brussels, and New York (DR 2 Theatre). He taught acting, directing, and theatre management at DAMU for almost twenty years. He is also the playwright of original plays and adaptations: Death Suites Him, Happy End, The Good and the True, Three Musketeers, Boss of it All, The Course of Negative Thinking, The Trip Around the World, Krakatit, The Feast is Over, Born on 28th of October, Wake, In the Web, Captured by Film, and others. Hrbek also composes music for theatre (AI: When Robot Writes a Play, The Forest, Tartuffe, The Importance of Being Earnest, Happy End, Trip Around the World, and others). His TV and film works include directing television recordings of performances (AI: When Robot Writes a Play, The Forest) and also acting (Respectful Bow, Mr. Kohn, To Vienna by Train, To be Healthy, Mach, Sebestova and a Magic Handset, Smichov is Crying, Brooklyn is Dreaming, Fire Spring).