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So now what? Actress Ilse Geilen presents a new twist to digital entrepreneurship

Who's prepared for a pandemic? The graduating class of 2020 were thrown into a totally different field of work than the one they had prepared for. How do these alumni deal with the impact of the novel coronavirus on their creative-professional practice? Lars Meijer and Tim Bongaerts, who graduated in the year of COVID, will be exploring, ways to succeed as a creative entrepreneur in this new world, in collaboration with the ArtEZ Business Centre. By talking to resourceful ArtEZ alumni, they'll be trying to find out what it takes to be an entrepreneurial artist today. What lessons can we learn from them? 


So now what? Actress Ilse Geilen presents a new twist to digital entrepreneurship

 

This week, they spoke to actress Ilse Geilen, whose TikToks give a fresh twist to her digital entrepreneurship. "I have 61.000 followers, and sometimes get 9 million views in a month. I'm very visible, and I also have a relevant degree." Last year, Ilse Geilen graduated from the School of Acting at ArtEZ Arnhem and came into her own as a self-employed entrepreneur with a growing number of fans in schools across the Netherlands. With her TikTok page pudding.broodje, Ilse found a way of providing herself with work and income immediately after graduating. She has generated an online audience of approximately four packed Ziggo Domes. Was a career in social media always her ambition? Or was it a coincidence? During our interview on Zoom, Ilse speaks candidly about her life after graduating, her growing presence on TikTok, and the lessons she learned about her own approach to entrepreneurship during the pandemic.

 

It would be a waste not to make the best use of this medium

"While we were graduating, we were all trying to save whatever we could. For actors, generating work mostly consists of constantly maintaining open lines of communication to the outside world." Ilse told us about the coaching sessions in which the students from the School of Acting are trained to outline their desired future career paths. They're also taught a proactive attitude through what Ilse described as 'mail training', in which everyone is encouraged to get in touch with the theater groups that they would enjoy being a part of in the future. "During my time at ArtEZ, I had to get used to the constant focus on cultivating connections. Now, I'm very grateful for these lessons. I really learned how to put myself in the spotlight. I know what people to call and how to get them to call me back." Still, we ask: are phone calls and mail training enough to succeed in a field that is increasingly digital? After all, the allocation of roles in the Dutch theater and film industries seems to be less about degrees and more about online presence and audience. "I used to think an actor didn't belong on TikTok, but the mere fact of having a degree doesn't necessarily move you forward in acting. It would be a waste not to make the best use of this medium."

It won't come as a surprise that the exponential growth of TikTok has drawn the attention of advertisers. In part due to the flood of new users during the first wave of the pandemic, the medium is now an influential force in steering the global cultural discourse. Thanks to Ilse's insights, she's now one of the first actors in the country to profit from the new revenue sources that are only beginning to be introduced on the platform. "I always wanted to make content," Ilse told us, "but it didn't seem like the kind of thing that a 'serious' actor would do. I thought that meant, you know, playing in movies, or performing Shakespeare. I remember the School of Acting was initially a little hesitant to encourage my interest in TikTok, but there is a growing curiosity about the opportunities that the medium offers."

Is there a stigma on art in a digital space?

Can a program like the School of Acting stay current with the developments on platforms like TikTok, or should the focus be solely on the craft? Ilse definitely had some ideas about the future of her former education: "I would advise anyone to look beyond the stigma on art on social media." Throughout our conversation, she repeatedly emphasizes the importance of drawing your own plans, and she thinks every ArtEZ program should have a course in digital entrepreneurship. "Online self-profiling is here to stay in creative fields. You have to make use of the new ways of selling yourself; submitting your resumé on paper seems less and less effective."

Most importantly, think about what your work needs.

Does that mean that future creative entrepreneurs should all make TikTok accounts to find work? Not necessarily. But looking for a refreshing way to generate new work can clearly be worthwhile, especially if you find a unique way of engaging with new media. That will require an assertive attitude, but especially an open mind: what can a medium do for your work? You don't have to force your way onto a platform that doesn't feel comfortable to you. As Ilse told us toward the end of our talk: "Most importantly, think about what your work needs. If the things you're enthusiastic about are the driving force behind the work you put online, it can only be advantageous in the long run. What other uses and audiences can you find for your work? At the very least, you should look beyond the obvious and keep an eye out for new opportunities." In Ilse's case, her skillful use of TikTok may be the heart of her entrepreneurship, but we think it's especially her proactive and playful attitude that is the backbone to her success. We see opportunities arise for young artists in these digital spaces, but do we also have the sense of timing and the open mind required to leverage these new opportunities for our own fledgling entrepreneurship?

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Starting work during a pandemic: practical lessons

To help improve the entrepreneurship focus in the ArtEZ curriculum, Tim and Lars have also made a survey. With this survey, they will research the skills and forms of entrepreneurship of the class of 2019-2020. Read more here.

Previously published articles in this series: