Play Directing is about the leader of an artistic enterprise - the play director in today's theatre. The book describes the various roles a director plays, from "calling the plays" to orchestrating and blending a symphony of actors and elements. The author emphasizes that the role of the director is not as a dictator, but as a leader of multiple craftsmen who look to the director for ideas that will give impetus to their fullest, most creative expressions.

The text emphasizes that directing is not a finite and specific "system" of production, but rather is a venue for providing an intensive look at the structure of plays, of acting and actor-ownership, and of all the other crafts that together make a produced play.

Students are guided through the whole process of working on a play from style to analysis, including its relationship to moving pictures and television. They are encouraged to use this foundation as a basis from which to set their own goals as creative and dedicated leaders.