Meet the Toy Shop staff:

Robert Cooper serves as the Senior Director of Design at the Toyshop. He received his B.F.A. in Design and Technology at the University of Illinois in 1976. Cooper went on to pursue an M.F.A. in Theatre Design at Michigan State University and an M.F.A in Architecture at Georgia Tech. His professional credits include Props Master for The Juilliard School in New York City, Scenic Carpenter for MGM/United Artists Studio’s In the Heat of the Night, Production Manager and Exhibit Designer at the Atlanta Historic Center, and Scenic Designer for the tour sets of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis and Sammy Kershaw. In 2002, Cooper was awarded a Southeast Regional Emmy for Best-Set Design.

Eddie Nichols Jr. is the Toyshop foreman and Scenic Carpenter and Artist. He received his B.S. in Communication and Theatre from Austin Peay State University in 1998. Nichols professional credits include set construction for television specials such as 4^th of July for A&E, Celine Dion’s Farewell to Radio City Music Hall, Chris Rock’s HBO special Bigger and Blacker, Christmas in Washington for George Bush and the opening of Monday Night Football with Hank Williams Jr. He has worked on music videos for artists like Alan Jackson, Kid Rock, Martina McBride, Nora Jones, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain and Garth Brooks. Nichols has also created sets for Nashville Star, local news channels 2, 5, and 17, Master Piece Theatre’s movie A Death in the Family and the independent film Existo.