A world-renowned directing coach explains what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong. Tells how to analyze and prepare the script, how the actors work, and also shares a look at the relationship between the director and the actor. You can learn directorial work - like a craft. You don't have to surround it with an atmosphere of mystery. Over the years of teaching, Judith Weston has analyzed many scripts and rehearsal techniques, developed a set of rules and a lot of tools that are the theme of this book. These principles and tools are simple, not in the sense of "simple" = "stupid," but in the sense of "simple" = "basic." These methods are neither esoteric nor nebulous; they are objective and practical. They are a set of instructions that you can follow. Although it should not represent them as indestructible laws, their task is to open up the invaluable possibilities of the director's own intuition.