In this essay, the relationship between directing and critical approaches to pedagogy is considered as a starting place for theorizing directing as an act of critical performative pedagogy. Performance and directing create opportunities for relational, collaborative, and experiential approaches to students, learning, and the classroom. Connecting critical approaches to pedagogy with the act of directing offers new ways of conceptualizing both the act and the role of the director, as well as transforms the way we approach and work to enact critical performative pedagogy in our classrooms.