Regarded, say, as element of play (5)
I believe the answer is:
scene
'element of play' is the definition.
(I know that scene part of play)
'regarded say' is the wordplay.
'regarded' becomes 'seen' (I've seen this in another clue).
'say' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'seen' sounds like 'SCENE'.
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for scene that I've seen before include "bit of an act" , "Place of an event - of the crime?" , "Division of a play" , "Division of an act" , "Landscape - tantrum" .)