Napa Valley Register

When New Technology High School’s freshman drama class decided to present Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” they got coaching from two professional Napa actors, Barry Martin and Rick Pallaziol. The class created their vision for an adaptation of the tragic story of doomed lovers: an ethereal dream world — with characters moving through a black-and-white world with symbolic splashes of color representing the mood and tone. They took charge of every aspect of the production including marketing, costume and set design.

Pallaziol, a stage combat expert from Weapon of Choice, coached the actors on fighting with stage weapons for the crucial scenes that determine the fate of Romeo and Juliet. “In a Shakespeare play the stage direction might just say ‘they fight,'” Pallaziol said. “But we have to storyboard that fight just as they do for film. No movement is left to chance.”

Martin was recently named the 2016 Napa County Arts Hero by Arts Council Napa Valley for his contributions to the arts community.