It's 3:30 on a March afternoon at the Alliance Theatre. The cast of "Go, Dog, Go!," a musical play for children, has already performed two shows for enthusiastic grade schoolers. They've been at work since sunup, but the day's not done.

Weary yet full of adrenaline, they sweep lunch crumbs from their lips, swallow bottled water and prepare for a special rehearsal: "Go, Dog, Go!" is being readied for an audience of deaf and hearing-impaired children and will feature interpreters from a group called StageHands.

StageHands consists of professionals who work under the umbrella of VSA arts of Georgia (formerly Very Special Arts Georgia, an agency that provides access to the arts for people with disabilities). The interpreters are proficient in American Sign Language, and, though not actors, they do this sort of thing around the metro area all year long — most often at the Fox Theatre, at the Alliance or with Georgia Shakespeare but also, on occasion, at smaller theaters. They also interpret concerts and sometimes lectures.

This fall they'll be back at the Alliance and the Fox as well as performances by Theatrical Outfit downtown and at CenterStage North in Marietta.

The "Go, Dog, Go!" performance was one of only two shadow-interpreted shows they do each year. Instead of standing, lighted, to the side of the stage for the more common side-interpreted performances, the interpreters were on stage, side by side with the actors — literally "shadowing" them.

It's a tougher gig for all involved but a better deal for deaf and hearing-impaired theatergoers, said StageHands spokeswoman Jessie Romer. With shadow interpreters, audience members see the action and dialogue at one time. With side interpreters, it's more of a tennis match; they must look back and forth, from the action on stage to the interpreter on the side.

"I felt like I was much more aware of what was going on," said Chris Ensweiler, who played the top canine in "Go, Dog, Go!" Although he's done about two dozen side-interpreted shows, this was his first shadowed performance. It left an impression.

"Jessie almost adopted my physicality," Ensweiler said. "She walked like I walk and wore dog ears."

Audience connection

In addition, Romer and company taught the actors some sign language and let them sign some of their own lines. The result, Ensweiler said, was a greater connection with the audience.

"It was more exciting," he said, "because they had twice as much to look at."

That's not necessarily a result that comes easily. The rehearsal — one of only two; the second was simply to set lights and sound cues — featured plenty of bumps in the dark and "Where do I go nows? and "Oh, I should be heres" or "Where is so-and-sos?"

"Go, Dog, Go!," based on P.D. Eastman's children's book and directed by the Alliance's Rosemary Newcott, was a physical show with stylized language. The dialogue is basic, with such simple sentences and phrases as "big dog," "yellow dog," "blue dog," "dogs at play," "dogs at rest" and "dogs at sleep."

As such, it's a bit different from other things StageHands "actors" have done. The set included plenty of moving pieces and a slide. The action was fast and furious. Fur, if anybody actually had it, would no doubt fly.

The challenge of working with shadow interpreters, said "Dog" actor Courtney Patterson, "is not losing the buoyancy of the show. When someone is following you, the tendency is to slow down," but Romer and the other interpreters "are very good and very smart and they know what they're doing."

StageHands has been around in some form since 1977, when VSA Georgia began offering American Sign Language interpreting services for arts and cultural venues. StageHands' interpreters are educated and certified, and the group has an apprentice program so that up-and-coming signers can learn how to do it on stage.

ASL interpreting is a profession, not a hobby, and many of the StageHands interpreters are freelancers, hooking up with deaf patrons for doctor's appointments and court dates as well as cultural outings. Most hear just fine and learned ASL for their work. Others, like Nancy Holdren, come from deaf families; she learned ASL as her first language.

Legitimate language

ASL is, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the fourth-most-commonly-used language in the United States. It is a complete, complex language, using signs made with the hands, other movements, facial expressions and postures.

To Don Galloway, American Sign Language and the StageHands interpreters are a lifeline to a cultural world he'd otherwise be unable to enjoy. Galloway, coordinator of student services at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf, grew up in New York City, where he regularly took in the arts. He moved to Atlanta eight years ago; the interpreted performances let him keep doing what he loves.

"It's access," he said, pure and simple — "the music, the play, the culture. That totally influences your life."

Galloway says he hits the theater at least once a month, but he points out that his access is not as free as a hearing person's. For example, he can't decide just any afternoon to see a show that night. He must wait and plan; theaters that offer interpreted performances usually provide one for every three- or four-week run.

"It would be great if every theater would provide an interpreter for every performance," he said, "but that's not going to happen. And I know that."

Galloway, who chairs StageHands' governing committee, prefers shadow interpreted shows but says he'd rather have side-interpreted performances than no interpreting at all.

So Atlanta, it seems, has room for improvement.

Maybe Ensweiler can help. He can still sign, "work, dog, work."

AT A VENUE NEAR YOU

StageHands will interpret these performances this fall, and the list may grow. Only "Degas' Little Dancer" will be shadow-interpreted.

• Oct. 20 — "The Wedding Singer," Fox Theatre, 2 p.m.

• Oct. 20 — "Not Now, Darling," CenterStage North Theatre, 2 p.m.

• Oct. 28 — "Sleuth," Alliance Theatre, 2 p.m.

• Nov. 10 — "White Christmas," Fox Theatre, 2 p.m.

• Nov. 14 — "Degas' Little Dancer," Alliance Theatre for Youth, 11:45 a.m.

• Dec. 13 — "A Christmas Carol," Alliance Theatre,

11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

• Dec. 15 — Jim Brickman holiday concert, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, time to be announced