•Job: Box office manager, Fox Theatre, Atlanta

Photos by KARL W. RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Pat 'Sunshine' Tucker displays promotional fans for the upcoming production of 'The Color Purple' at the Fox Theatre.

(ENLARGE)

Tucker has worked at the Fox Theatre since 1979 and has been the box office manager since 1982. On performance nights, she is on hand to help distribute will-call tickets and clear up lost-ticket issues.

•What I do: Pat "Sunshine" Tucker has been in the theater since 1979, but she has no aspirations to be a performer.

Tucker, 57, is the box office manager at the Fox Theatre in Midtown, and, as for show biz, "I can't carry a tune in a bucket."

What she does is make sure audiences get in to see the Fox's nearly nonstop schedule of Broadway shows, ballet, theater, concerts, comedic performances and movies.

"I do everything affiliated with a ticket," she said, such as meeting with promoters; setting prices; coordinating with Ticketmaster; and fulfilling requests for tickets from the artists, their fan clubs, season ticket subscribers, ticket brokers, producers and everyone else who wants to see the show.

The performers often ask for tickets for their entourage, record label officials and fan clubs — sometimes up to half the house for fan packages, Tucker said.

Modern marketing for artists often includes fan clubs, the members of which get a chance to meet the artists at gatherings or VIP parties. "It's a new way to keep them coming back," she said.

Tucker also must adjust the ticket base, holding back tickets for seats with sight lines that might be blocked by equipment.

And the Internet has meant a whole new way to sell tickets, she added. The Fox sells its tickets online through Ticketmaster and in person at the box office. That means Tucker is managing the sales of tickets for up to 100 events at a time, from the current performance to shows a year in the future.

She'll also take a turn in the ticket booth, just inside the theater's marquee, and, on show nights, she's there to hand out will-call tickets and solve problems, such as tickets that have been lost or eaten by the dog.

After nearly 30 years at the theater, Tucker isn't star-struck. "I usually don't go backstage, but I wanted to meet [musician] Aaron Neville," she said.

And she was nervous about meeting actor and "Dancing With the Stars" alum John O'Hurley. Tucker said she extended her hand for a handshake, but O'Hurley swept her into a dance-floor dip. "That was pretty cool."

•What got me interested in this: Tucker has seen many changes at the Fox, both while growing up in Atlanta and while working there since 1979.

In the '70s, Tucker was involved in the effort to save the Fox from demolition. She sold beverages at performances to raise money.

As a preschool teacher, she brought a class to the theater and was entranced by it.

Because of her volunteer work, she landed a job in telephone ticket sales, "and I worked my way up." She has been box office manager since 1982.

Tucker also recalled when she would go to the Fox to see movies as a child, before the Fox was integrated.

"We had to come in a side entrance and walk up to the balcony," where African-Americans were required to sit. "I never thought that I'd work here."

Once she did start working at the Fox, it was a supervisor who nicknamed her "Sunshine" because of her bright disposition.

•Best part of my job: "Interacting with the public," Tucker said. "I'm a people person."

She said she enjoys seeing people react to the theater — "the big castle" — especially children who look up at the painted ceiling and think the theater is open to the sky.

•Most challenging part: "Very, very popular shows," she said. "We have more than 4,000 seats, and you know how many people want to be here. . . . I want to make everybody happy."

•What people don't know about my job: "People fail to realize how large this theater is," she said.

"All of the Broadway touring companies come to this building," Tucker said, because it's large enough to hold all but the very biggest shows.

"The Lion King" recently had to play elsewhere because of its space needs, she said, but "Miss Saigon," another show with huge space requirements, was able to play at the Fox after the touring company stopped using a real helicopter on stage.

She also noted that, because most shows are at night and on weekends, that's when she works.

•What keeps me going: "Even though it's tickets, every show is different," Tucker said. "Different people come to each show."

•Preparation needed for this job: "Mostly, it's a common-sense factor," Tucker said of the requirements for her job. "You have to love people and have patience. Every patron is a different person."

Tucker and the theater belong to several organizations for ticket management, and she said people from many different venues meet to discuss topics such as how to handle lost tickets or show cancellations.

Tucker attended Atlanta Technical College for early childhood education and Georgia State University, where she studied special education. She was a preschool teacher for eight years before coming to work for the Fox.

In keeping with the Fox's community spirit, Tucker is also the box office manager for the National Black Arts Festival, which is held annually in Atlanta.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.