That's Entertainment: Grad Lands First Job
By Xuan Huynh
Lemke Ledger Staff
During a time of uncertainty and turmoil, having job security before graduation is a blessing.
Alyson Kaltenbach, a senior from Tulsa, will start her career at Celebrity Attractions theater back in her hometown following graduation.
“I am looking forward to it and to be there for a long time,” Kaltenbach said. “I am ready for June 1.”
Kaltenbach heard about Celebrity Attractions because of her connection to the owners. Their families have been friends for years, and she took the opportunity to intern with them last summer.
She mainly worked in the box office, where she sold tickets and promoted upcoming tours. She worked on special projects that dealt with promotion and design. She wrote a national press release for The Pajama Game, a musical revived from the original 1954 Broadway production. She organized special events like the VIP Luncheon in Little Rock and a group party for this summer’s show "Wicked". From doing big affairs to focusing on little details, like redesigning the company letterhead, the vice president said Kaltenbach exhibited a good work ethic and flexibility to do whatever was needed.
Doing the internship was essential to her getting the job, Kaltenbach said. She will be working in the box office again and will focus on work in the graphics department.
“They didn’t have a position open for me, but they created a position instead. I don’t really know what that is going to look like in detail, but I am excited,” Kaltenbach said. “Levi [the vice president] said that I was the missing piece of the puzzle.”
Kaltenbach praised the company for its service to its customers. For example, one customer wanted to make a scrapbook of old files and seasons from the past 10 years. Kaltenbach worked on compiling the information. It demonstrated care and attention to the individual — to care for one among 12,000 subscribers.
Kaltenbach feels comfortable, she said, working for a family business that employs fewer than 20 people. The classes she has taken for her journalism degree helped prepare her for this job, she said. Media Technology, Creative Strategy, and Consumer Behavior gave her the skills and knowledge about design and target markets, she said.
“I am thankful to have a job secured while still taking classes, to have a focus,” Kaltenbach said. “My thinking is now ‘How can I apply these to the company?’”
Having a position with Celebrity Attractions right after last summer has taken a huge amount of pressure off her, Kaltenbach said.
“To have 18 hours in my last semester of college is stressful. I can’t imagine having to find a job and a place to live on top of everything else. It has been such a blessing,” Kaltenbach said.
Her advice to those without guarantees after May? Keep looking. Don’t give up.
“You will find something. It is easy to get defeated, but keep looking,” Kaltenbach said.
Celebrity Attractions has been a presenter and producer of major theatrical, musical and family entertainment since 1983. It is a small company owned by the Payton family that is in six markets: Tulsa; Oklahoma City; Springfield, Mo.; Lubbock, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; and Little Rock.