Play Directing describes the various roles a director plays, from selection and analysis of the play to working with actors and designers to bring it to life. The authors emphasize that the role of the director is that of an artist-leader working in collaboration with actors and designers who look to the director for partnership in achieving their fullest, most creative expressions. The text emphasizes that directing is not a finite and specific "system" of production, but rather it is a means of providing an intensive look at the structure of plays, of acting, and of the process of design in the major areas of scenery, costume, lighting, and sound that together make a produced play.