By ANGYE MORRISON

amorrison@discoveringbulloch.com

When Robert Faller was a kid his dad rarely ever called a handyman to help with repairs around the house.

“If something needed to be fixed, my dad took care of it, which meant I was right there by his side the whole time, whether it was holding a flashlight while we crawled under the house running wires, up on a roof checking the gutters, or simply running back and forth from the garage to the ladder he was on, passing him up tools,” he said. 

Consequently, Faller was on board with the notion of working in a scene shop during college while he attended Georgia Southern University, where he was working on a degree in Justice Studies. The class, taught by local theater legend and retired GSU professor Mical Whitaker, was one in theater appreciation.

“I found myself at home there,” Faller said. “Once a member of the scene shop, I began to study and learn technical theater from Gary Dartt, and later from Kelly Berry. Also while working for the Theatre department, I had the privilege of working with and learning from Pete Davis, who at that time, was the technical director for the Performing Arts Center on campus.”

The 12-hour requirement turned into a paying job the very next semester. 

In 2004, Faller wanted to continue studying technical theater, and he often helped to load in and work shows at the Averitt Center for the Arts as a stagehand or spotlight operator. He became friends with Tim Chapman, who was director of the Averitt at the time, and when the job of technical director opened up, because of his skill set and experience, he got the call. He still holds the position, and is also production manager, a title the Averitt board added last year.

In the 15 years since he first was hired, Faller has come to wear a lot of hats at the Averitt. His regular duties include serving as technical support for all rentals, concerts, professional performances and special events, as well as the general maintenance of all the buildings associated with the Averitt. 

As technical director, he is responsible for the design and execution of all Averitt Center productions for lighting, design and operation, audio engineering, projection and set construction. 

In addition, he is responsible for the installation and upkeep of all lighting and audio equipment in both the Emma Kelly and Whitaker Black Box theaters. As production manager, some of his duties include scheduling the performance season and setting all production budgets for the year.

Faller loves the variety that comes with his job. 

“While a portion of my job does require me to stay in the office reviewing budgets, it's never long before I am up moving around in the theater or our warehouse working on a show.  And while the general concepts that go into producing shows rarely change, because each show is different those concepts produce a different product every time,” he said.

Faller says there are many challenges to be faced in his job.

“Budget is always a challenge to overcome or work with,” he said. “In theater, it becomes a balance between keeping shows affordable for our audience while trying to produce and maintain the highest level of quality possible.” 

Another challenge is the employee to time ratio. There are often multiple local shows or events in the theater each month, and it can be a challenge to maintain that schedule while still keeping the space clean and ready for any rental or professional show.