A study was conducted to learn about the effective practice of theatre through the application of research methods developed in studies involving other types of organizations. Successful and unsuccessful play directors, as determined by evaluations of their plays in the Southwest Region of the American College Theatre Festival, were surveyed to learn their leadership or directorship styles. The basis for the examination of directorship style was found in the contingency theory of management studies. A study of 16 directors, eight judged successful and eight judged unsuccessful, indicated that contingency theory failed to predict successful directors from unsuccessful directors. Among the interesting relationships noted were that (1) a majority of successful directors were task oriented, while a majority of unsuccessful directors were relationship motivated; and (2) seven of eight successful directors scored high on the overall situational control scale. (MKM)