This thesis details my creative process as I directed Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) during the 2023-2024 season. In this thesis, I describe my overall concept, initial text analysis, design ideas, highlights of staging specific moments, highlights of working with specific team members (including actors, an assistant director, an intimacy choreographer, and a movement consultant), and navigating unexpected interpersonal situations. I compare this production to my Fall 2022 production of Orlando by Sarah Ruhl at UMass, detailing the differences in both processes and how Ii applied lessons from Orlando to my work with Emilie. My narrative of the Emilie process highlights the following major throughline: that striking the perfect balance between decisiveness and adaptability to challenging situations is a skill that makes a great director, this skill can only be learned by doing, and that I have learned this skill.