Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated theatre and film director, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes – A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few-is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. This remarkable volume, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered the ”spine,” or core, of each script, how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; and how he determined the specifics of his production, from casting and costuming to set design and cinematography. And in the final section, ” The Pleasures of Directing”-written during Kazan’s final years- he is the wise voice of experience offering advice and insight for budding artists, writers, actors and directors.