This volume assesses the contributions of Andre Antoine, Konstantin Stanislavski and Michel Saint-Denis, whose work has influenced theatre and training for over a century. These directors pioneered Naturalism and refined Realism as they experimented with theatrical form including non-Realism. Antoine and Stanislavskis theatre direction proved foundational to the creation of the directors role and artistic vision, and their influential ideas progressively developed through the stylized theatre of Saint-Denis to the innovative contemporary theatre direction of Max Stafford-Clark, Declan Donnellan and Katie Mitchell.