Renowned theatre and film director Nancy Meckler delves into her hugely varied experiences in the rehearsal room and shares examples of tried-and-tested "tools" to bring a play to life.

Meckler encourages you to interrogate, play, experiment and to use her methods as a starting point to begin creating your own unique directing toolkit and finding your own style.

The examples are drawn from her experience directing a range of work from classic plays, including work by Chekhov, Brecht and Shakespeare, to new writing, including work by Pam Gems and Sam Shepard, and in a wide range of renowned theatres, including the RSC, National Theatre, Royal Court and a number of the UK's regional theatres.

The author's approachable and relatable writing style enables an in-depth look into how she works with actors and the many ways in which she may approach a new project while also providing with a unique insight into her own wealth of experience over a remarkable career as an award-winning and internationally celebrated director.

Nancy Meckler is an award-winning theatre director. Having grown up in Long Island, she moved to the UK to train in classical acting at LAMDA. In 1969, she set up and ran The Freehold Theatre Company, one of the main alternative theatre companies to emerge in London at the time. She was the first woman to direct at the National Theatre and was the Artistic Director of Shared Experience for 22 years. As a freelancer she has directed for the RSC, NT, Hampstead, Royal Court, West End, Broadway and Shakespeare's Globe, among many others, and worked regularly with playwright Sam Shepard, directing many of his premieres.