Tony Award-Winning Set Designer Scott Pask Brings eBay to Broadway

If you're a serious theater-goer, chances are you've seen the work of Scott Pask, the scenic designer responsible for evoking pre-Revolutionary Russia in Tom Stoppard's epic trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, and eerily staging Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman. (He won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for both.)

Pask frequently turns to eBay to source items for his lush, transporting sets, finding everything from vintage textiles (for the musical Promises, Promises) to the English antiques he's using in his latest project, a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession, in previews now and opening on October 3.

Pask recently shared some of his eBay shopping tips and a list of what he's currently hunting for on the online marketplace.

The Inside Source: How did you get started working in theatrical design?

Scott Pask: I studied architecture, and while I was pursuing my degree, I found the idea exciting to merge both my interests in theater and design. I received my Bachelors of Architecture degree from the University of Arizona, and then after working in New York in theater and independent film, went to Yale, and received my Master of Fine Arts degree from the School of Drama.

(Photo Credit: Matthew Brookes)

TIS: You've done so many big shows, from "The Vertical Hour" to "Promises, Promises." What are some of your favorite sets you've created?

SP: That's a tough one! They are all my favorites, each for different reasons... To name one....The Pillowman stands out because the process of creating the scenery and costumes for it was so rewarding. It was a new play, by a writer [Martin McDonagh] I hugely admire, and with a director [John Crowley] with whom I have done many rewarding projects. To have the opportunity of giving that amazing piece of writing its first production at the National Theater in London and then on Broadway was a thrill. It was also the show for which I won my first Tony award....which is a moment I will never forget...being onstage at Radio City Music Hall, living a moment I had dreamed about since I was a young boy growing up in Yuma, Arizona.

TIS: Tell us about the new projects you're working on now, Elling and Mrs. Warren's Profession. What will we see on stage?

SP: Elling [starring Brendan Fraser and Denis O'Hare] is based on an award-winning contemporary Norwegian film about two men who are in a government facility for Mental health and are released to live together, under supervision, to rehabilitate in their own city apartment, and encouraged to participate in the world around them. It is a very very funny, sweet, and touching story of an unconventional friendship struck when trying to make one's way in the world when not as well-equipped as most. The set is a room within a larger space that will be a kind of toybox for the actors... and allow magical things to happen, as it shifts to many places... and also has an approach visually that relates to their story.

The world I am creating for the revival of George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession is composed of a series of lush English countryside locales, each seductive in its pastoral appeal, and then finally the interior of a London office, a stark contrast to the previous settings of carefully curated natural beauty.

Its was a very modern play for its time, and very controversial... and we have chosen to set it a little later than written, in the early years of the 20th century, just before the first World War, during the height of the aesthetic movement, and the popularity of the Bloomsbury Group... for the appeal of the clothing silhouette, and for its impact on the architecture and interiors of the time, and most importantly for the dramturgical impact of this story of a young modern woman questioning the invisible means of her financial support within this highly cultivated and curated environment, and ultimately realizing her goal of earning an honest living like her male counterparts.

Scenes from Mrs. Warren's Profession

TIS: You've used eBay to get props and other pieces for your work. What are some of the more incredible things you've been able to track down on the site?

SP: I recently found some immaculately preserved 1950's textiles that I used onstage for Promises, Promises, turning them into bedding, drapes, and for upholstery. I've also found lots of vintage aviation photography to dress the walls of Clancy's Bar, a location in the musical. Most recenly, I've spotted some special English antiques and garden ornaments for Mrs. Warren's Profession. And I am anticipating finding some great Norwegian set dressing for Elling.

I seem to be always on the hunt for unique decorative items to furnish onstage rooms and locations.

The 2009 Broadway revival of Hair, which Pask designed, using rugs he found on eBay.

TIS: Does designing sets for a living make you care more or less about your environment at home?

SP: I do care very much about the space I inhabit at home. As an architect, I am inclined to appreciate more austere environments, but with special curated objects and art to surround me. My furniture taste also tends to hover in the more modern side of things, but I have and arts and crafts chair and some antique pieces to keep a nice visual balance.

TIS: How is your personal space designed? And does it stay consistent or shift as you come across new and interesting objects?

SP: My space is architecturally modern, with tall ceilings, and white walls, long sheer curtains to soften the southern light, and most importantly, good lighting from both internally installed sources and lamplight. The furnishings and art/objects add a depth and warmth to the space, and I love having lots of books around. It is all carefully placed and organized....I certainly appreciate order within the chaos that can be New York, and home is often my pastoral think tank of sorts, with objects that inspire me. It can indeed shift at times to accommodate, say, a new chair or piece I've found, or [reorganize walls] to shake things up from time to time.

TIS: Your twin brother, Bruce Pask, is the Men's Fashion Director at T, the New York Times style magazine. Do you consult each other before making fashion and home purchases? Or do you find you have really different aesthetics?

SP: I think we do share some aesthetic tastes and certainly value each others opinions greatly, but we each have our own distinct tastes and styles, both in fashion and at home. Bruce will certainly ask my input about things house- and furniture-related... and I will do the same for attire, especially for events. And I am always happy to receive his hit picks of what he's interested in sartorially, as I think he has great style. But we do indeed have individual approaches to both.

Here's a glimpse at Pask's current eBay queue:

Roll over items for details

Doulton's Nipon Aesthetic Movement Gold Sun Plate

"I'm loving this aesthetic movement plate that I found and am currently watching. It's beautiful and so modern in its decoration."

(buy it now price, $112.95)

Vintage Antique Machinist Industrial Stool Drafting Uhl

"Looking for a turn of the century clerks chair/drafting stool [for Mrs. Warren's Profession], and this is my favorite by far. It's for a scene in a law office in London, and captures the more decorative approach we have for the show, on a very functional piece....It's hard to find industrial furniture with such visual interest, and most tends to be Mid-Century."

(sold for $295)

New Interaction Of Color by Josef Albers

"I'm also always trying to find out of print books. I'n currently looking for an edition of Sir Alfred East's The Art of Landscape Painting in Oil Colour. I gave a beautiful copy of one I found on eBay and am hoping to come across another! This reprint of the seminal work of Josef Albers is a must for any art historian. His views on color are fascinating, and the images, hypnotic. I love the classic series "Homage to the Square," as they often look like front views of theater stage openings (prosceniums)."

(buy it now price, $133.33)

Antique English Zinc & Copper Watering Can

"A great Britisth antique watering can to use on the porch of a garden locale."

(sold for $120)

Antique Vintage Original Tapestry Throw

"I'm also on the hunt for textiles as throws on sofas, and chairs and am watching these right now."

(starting bid, $139)

Fabulous Victorian Jacquard Tapestry Throw/Tablecloth

(buy it now price, $120)

North American Cowboy, A Portrait by Jay Dusard

"This is a book by a western photographer I greatly admire, Jay Dusard, and [is a] highly collectible first edition. Amazing black and white large format photographs of cowboys and landscapes of the west. I keep looking to find a photograph of his pop-up for auction on eBay!"

(buy it now price, $164.99)

Antique Pima Indian Basket

"I think the pattern on this early Pima basket is great."

(current bid, $450)

Images of Hair and Mrs. Warren's Profession provided by Pask.