ENGLISH

Albin Balint

Arts Project Manager | Theatre Producer | Cultural Consultant

Born in 1981 in Debrecen, Hungary, Albin Balint is an accomplished theatre professional and arts manager with a rich and diverse background in musical theatre, drama education and arts event management. His work is driven by a deep commitment to artistic excellence, community engagement and arts education.

He graduated in 2000 from Ady Endre Secondary School in Debrecen, specialising in Literature and Drama. He then studied Art Theory and Theatre Studies at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, graduating in 2005. While still a student, he led a youth musical theatre workshop and taught drama at his former secondary school.

Early in his career, Albin served as Assistant Director at the Budapest Operetta Theatre (2002) and was Guest Course Leader at Rock and Musical Theatre in Budapest (2005). Between 2005 and 2012, he lived and worked in the United Kingdom, where he collaborated as a freelance theatre professional and production consultant on both classical and new musical theatre productions in London. During this period, he completed a Master’s Degree in Musical Theatre Producing at Goldsmiths College, University of London (2008) and took part in the Genesis Directors Programme at the Young Vic Theatre (2010–2011). From 2007 to 2012, he was a member of Mercury Musical Developments, a UK-based organisation supporting the creation of new musicals.

Back in Hungary, he served as Production Manager at Momentán Improv Theatre Company (2013–2014), followed by six years (2014–2020) as Arts Manager at Főnix Event Organising NPO in Debrecen. There, he oversaw the annual theatrical offerings of major venues including the Nagyerdei Open Air Theatre, Kölcsey Cultural Centre and Főnix Arena, and managed large-scale cultural events such as Karneváléj (Carnival Night), the multi-arts arena show of the Debrecen Flower Carnival.

In 2019, he served as Project Manager and Stage Director for the live symphonic, semi-staged premiere of Hungarian musical Légy jó mindhalálig (Be Good Until Death) by Tibor Kocsák and Tibor Miklós at the Nagyerdei Open Air Theatre, commemorating the 140th anniversary of acclaimed Hungarian novelist Zsigmond Móricz’s birth.

From 2020 to 2021, he was Head of Production at the Móricz Zsigmond Theatre in Nyíregyháza, and from 2021 to 2024, Head of Projects at the Madách Theatre in Budapest. In 2024–2025, he served as Head of Festivals at the Csokonai National Theatre in Debrecen.

In 2025, he founded Showtivator Arts Management Agency, where he currently works with his team as a freelance Arts Project Manager, creating and managing innovative theatrical and cultural initiatives.

Albin holds several professional qualifications, including a Higher Education Diploma in Community Arts Management (Soter-Line Education Centre, 2015), a Cultural Leadership Training Program Certificate (Budapest Cultural Centre, 2021), and a Master’s Degree in Teaching Drama and Theatre Studies (Károli Gáspár University, 2024).

He has been a member of the Hungarian Drama and Theatre Education Association since 2005. His work has been recognised with a creative scholarship from the Public Foundation for Talented Young People of Debrecen (2000) and the Kölcsey Ferenc Scholarship from the Municipality of Debrecen (2019).

Professional Focus:

Designing and managing new arts projects, program series, and festivals for performing arts organizations
Organising performing arts programs, workshops, and training courses for young people
Providing professional consultancy in the field of Performing Arts

Professional Goals:

To broaden public engagement in the performing arts by creating and enabling meaningful, high-quality artistic experiences
To educate new generations in the field of theatre and inspire lifelong theatre attendance

Photo: Vera Éder