“I regularly visit our shows Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Disney FROZEN”

Interview in Dutch

Why did you choose BUas, then NHTV, at the time?
“My passion was always in leisure. I loved visiting new attractions in theme parks and, for example, following the new expansion plans and strategic choices at Disney. During the open day, I got talking to Klaus Hoven, who was very enthusiastic and told me about the possibilities of doing a  work placement at Walt Disney World in Florida. For me, there was no more doubt; I wanted to do this study programme. I had never thought in advance that I could turn my hobby into my career too."

What has stayed with you the most from the study programme? 
“Especially the people. I met a group of like-minded people who were interested in the same industry and with whom I could share experiences. We dreamed together about what we could achieve in the leisure industry. But, besides that, especially the opportunities we got to do projects for the best hospitality and leisure businesses in the world. For example, I thought it was cool that this programme allowed me to graduate at a big company like Plopsa and that I got to do an assignment with classmates for Europa-Park and do a work placement at Walt Disney World in Orlando.”

“Especially from my work placement at Walt Disney World, I learned a lot. From residing and living in America, working with colleagues coming from all over the world and the unique opportunity to learn about ultimate guest experience at Disney. I was curious about all work processes and details, which is how I also got involved in the launch of the Magic Bands, for which I was able to attend training courses. This system has since been further developed, but at its launch it was unique in that you could use a bracelet to pay, book fast passes and walk into the parks just like that. I was doing this extra on top of my work.’

Did you miss something during your studies?
“In my time, we were taught very little about online marketing, nor did we go very much into the real commercial world. We did sometimes have fictional assignments with unlimited budgets, so anything was creatively possible in our thought process. But, of course, in the real world things are very different. There, on the contrary, you have to deal with limited budgets, so in business, I quickly found myself standing with both feet on the ground. At the time, I would have liked to work more for real companies on realistic assignments.”

Do you have any recollection of your studies that you think back to once in a while?
“I did a graduation project for Plopsa in Belgium, for which I carried out research into the perception of mothers of young visitors in the several parks. From Plopsa, the question was raised to include all their parks in it. As driven as I was, a week before the submission date I presented everything to my then supervising lecturer Bart Stadhouders, upon which Bart indicated that the research had become far too extensive to submit. Fortunately, with a lot of night work, I got to the heart of the matter in that last week, because fortunately, mentality was never an issue. What must be done, must be done! As a result, I passed both my thesis and oral defence in one go.”

Which lecturer do you sometimes think back to?
“Bart Stadhouders in any case. When I started my studies, he was still quite young, which made it easy for me to spar with him. Besides, like me, he was from Oosterhout, so we still run into each other occasionally now. Bart was a fine coach and always available for questions. But of course I will never forget Klaus Hoven and Goof Lukken either, who, like the students, were equally enthusiastic as soon as we visited a new park or a new attraction. For example, with Goof I went to Europa-Park for the very first time and Klaus came to visit us at Walt Disney World and joined us when we were allowed to present our minor (Het Molencafé) to the Europa-Park management.

What’s more, I also often think back to the friendships and relationships that were formed during my studies. For instance, I am still good friends with former classmates Luc Denie and Matthijs Boender and couples from our study year even got married or have children, such as Kelly and Gino Sellier, and Tess Jansen and Youri van de Konijnenberg.”

What did you take up after you graduated?
“I first worked at a consulting firm, where I did a research project for a restaurant at a theatre in the town of Uden. I did research into what Uden still lacked in terms of hotel and catering establishments and what type of cuisine and theme suited this. That restaurant was also realised. I also wrote a consultancy plan for the Beekse Bergen Safari Resort. After that, I worked at Ticketsplus for over five years. Here I started as campaign manage, after which I was able to focus more and more on sales. From coming up with commercial concepts to setting up collaborations with major companies like Center Parcs, Roompot and Fletcher Hotels. When COVID-19 came along, I started working at webshop Nutamo. This is a family business owned by my former classmate Matthijs Boender that focuses on nuts, wine and cheese. There, I supported the company in marketing and sales and helped out at wine tastings, among other things. Then, after almost three years, I started looking for work in the leisure sector again."

Where did you end up?
”I have worked at Stage Entertainment Nederland for over a year now, where I focus on creating B2B partnerships in sales and marketing. We have two theatres of our own in the Netherlands where our musicals are run, i.e., the AFAS Circustheater Scheveningen and Beatrix Theater Utrecht. The productions Disney FROZEN & Moulin Rouge! The Musical are now playing there. Our headquarters are in Amsterdam, but we create and produce musicals all over the world. Stage Entertainment focuses mainly on Europe, so we have more than 15 theatres across Europe, in e.g. Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

The advantage of such a big and well-known business is that many companies are eager to work with us. Current musicals are also incredibly popular. Compared to other (leisure) sectors, PR in the musical industry is a lot more important, though. Without publicity, it is difficult in this sector. I mainly focus on business partnerships and our external sales channels. I am the point of contact for, for example ING, ANWB and VodafoneZiggo. With these companies, I close new deals for our musicals, for instance, which they can then put out as a promotion among their customers, readers, participants or members. Relationship management is very important; we have been working together very well with many companies for years. Our team is also very driven, everyone has a lot of passion for theatre and there are a lot of colleagues who have been working there for years.”

What is so cool in your position?
“I very much like the commercial aspect and the diversity of the position. I have a lot of contact with business partners and there are always opportunities and possibilities. One time I am working on ticket promotions and then I am working on a sponsorship deal. And the nice thing is, with these partners I regularly go to one of our performances, because we organise relationship evenings. Of course I also go and watch the dress rehearsal and premiere, which means I sometimes see our musicals ten times.”

What have you learnt in your professional career?
“Where one door closes, another always opens. You really do have setbacks in your work sometimes, but stay positive. You can resign yourself to something not working out, but if you just go the extra mile, it might work out!”

What tip would you like to give to others? 
“Don't be put off and follow your heart. Keep in touch with former students and lecturers, if you had a good relationship with them; you never know where it will lead. Some former students now have jobs in other sectors. I have always thought; this is where my heart is and I will go for it. I worked in small companies and family businesses and now I work for the market leader in the field of musicals. The high quality of our performances and name recognition of our company do make it a lot easier to engage with parties. But most of all, I enjoy being able to immerse our guests in another world and give them an unforgettable evening. At Stage Entertainment, I got a warm welcome. But fortunately, besides my work, I can also find time for my great hobby: carnival!”

What was your dream when you started studying and do you feel it has come true (already)?
“My dream was always to work at a quality company in the leisure industry, and now I have succeeded! I think Stage Entertainment is a great company to work for, so I hope there will be opportunities to grow in the future. My passion for the leisure industry will not go away any time soon and I remain ambitious, driven and motivated. So who knows what the future holds.”

Interview by Elles van Steenis