Charles Newell's insights into staging an artistic production

Start with why, what for?

Read the text and listen to your response. Why am I reacting this way?  Look for what scares you, moves you. That is what you want to work on. Once you have a response that gives a unique point of view, then you have a "why" into the play.

The chaos and uncertainty that is often part of the process that leads up to a play is the adrenaline rush that allows you to focus on what's important. 

Ask the the question, "How is colonialism affecting us today?" Consider setting the play in a contemporary setting such as Afghanistan. Maybe something could be done with prisoners of war there.

Be narrowly focused on small episodes. The novel, "The Jewel in the Crown," is episodic; so take little pieces of it and keep your sense of why narrowly focused on your unique point of view. Above all, don't try to tell the whole story. 

The question of authenticity is tricky. In the theater you should focus on behavior and heightening the relationship that you are dealing with in trying to achieve it. Don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about dress and other props.

Get the text down early and, again, don't try to tell the whole story. Be the guy who walks into a bar and tries to tell the story of imperialism to the audience.

Take an episode in the novel and extract the dialogue from it. Then try to create a scene by expressing the dialogue over and over again in your own words. 

Is there drama or inherent conflict in the scene? Does this sort of conflict exist in your own life and how can you take more risks with the scene? 

Never create a scene to set the stage for another scene. Every scene must have its own drama.