Scott Pask

Scott Pask is the scenic designer of Waitress the Musical.

Scott has designed staging for over 50 Broadway shows, and has been awarded three Tony Awards for his designs of The Book of Mormon, The Coast of Utopia, and The Pillowman.  

Scott studied architecture at the University of Arizona, before landing a place at the Yale School of Drama, on their Masters programme. In 1997, he landed his first Broadway job, as an assistant. He designed his first show, the satirical musical Urinetown, in 2001.

In late 2018, Scott had five productions on Broadway with his scenic designs – The Book of Mormon, Waitress, The Band’s Visit and Mean Girls.

He first worked with the director of Waitress, Diane Paulus, in 1999, when they worked together on The Donkey Show, which was inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They also worked together on Pippin and Hair, as well as the Cirque du Soleil show Amaluna.

Scott’s work has been exhibited at the Prague Quadrennial, Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Leslie Lohman Museum in New York City, Gallery Met at the Metropolitan Opera, and is featured in the permanent collection of the McNay Art Museum in Texas.

On Waitress, Scott said: “We were working within the domestic life of our lead character, Jenna. That largely takes place within Joe’s Pie Diner, which is not only her place of work but her place of creation and inspiration. It’s a personal refuge. And of course, there are the also the real demands of the musical structure, which are multiple locations… moments within the diner, her home, and various locations that reflect the story. So for me, it was important to not only portray the diner as a character but also to make sure the story of her life is given a vivid portrayal on stage.

“A lot of it comes from the vision of Diane Paulus, Lorin Latarro, and the script, but it also reflects the tone of Sara Bareilles‘s score. We are watching the ingredients of Jenna’s life and the set is one of those. It’s all in the mixing bowl of her life. It’s actually not a literal idea- it’s taking these real places in her life and trying to give it a literal spin.

“When we go to Earl and Jenna’s home, we wipe out the light and take away the horizon line. We basically put her in a corner. It’s not just portraying her home, but conceptually it’s ridding her of a place where she is able to expand.

“There are moments of what I call ‘magic realism,’ where the ensemble reflects an emotional moment. When she is upset with her husband, they spin around her and her dream sitting there in that moment is of packing a suitcase and leaving. That materializes in front of us, and then she snaps back to reality. So we exist in this world of hers – of her mind and her literal existence. I hope the set is a character moving with her emotional ups and downs throughout the show.”

Selected Previous Credits

Broadway

• The Band’s Visit
• Mean Girls
• Oh Hello
• Something Rotten
• Finding Neverland
• Poppin
• I’ll Eat You Last
• A Steady Rane
• The Coast of Utopia
• Speed-the-Plow
• Take Me Out
• Urinetown
• The Book of Mormon

West End

• Urinetown
• The Book of Mormon
• Tales From Hollywood
• The Pillowman
• Finding Neverland
• The Country Girl
• Hair
• Bash

Name	Scott Pask
From	Yuma, Arizona
Trained	University of Arizona
Role	Scenic Design