Lyric Interpreters at Pop Concerts Are a Big Hit : Music: Rancho Santiago’s hastily assembled team of translators for the deaf finds itself in demand after a successful experiment.

Ann Cevik has been a Doug Kershaw fan for years, even though she is deaf and has never heard a single word of such Kershaw classics as “Diggy Liggy Lo” and “Lou’siana Saturday Night.”

Attending Kershaw’s recent concert at the Orange County Fair, she was content to watch the wild Cajun fiddler’s animated performance in silence, and “hear” his music by feeling the thumps and vibrations emanating from the stage.

She was delighted when the spotlights came on and Herb Terrari, an interpreter for the deaf from Rancho Santiago College, took the stage with Kershaw and translated the lyrics that Cevik had never heard.

At the end of the first song, Cevik and other deaf people throughout the audience expressed their approval by raising their hands high in the air, which is how the deaf applaud. Word spread quickly through the local deaf community, which turned out in increasing numbers until the series closed with a performance by Steppenwolf.

The interpretations of the fair’s live entertainment, the result of a last-minute suggestion by Norb Bartosik, fair general manager, was such a hit that the hastily assembled team from Rancho Santiago continues to find itself in demand. The fair ended more than a week ago but the interpreters’ phones still are ringing with compliments and inquiries.

“It worked so well,” said Terrari, “that we definitely want to keep going.”

Ann Perkowski, the Rancho Santiago interpreter who coordinated the effort, said the seven interpreters who participated had translated lectures for deaf students at the college but none had interpreted a live concert before.

“This was something entirely new to us, so we made up the rules as we went along,” she said. The interpreters decided not to stand in the shadows, discreetly relaying lyrics with their hands. Two were assigned to each performance. One joined the musicians onstage, signing the words, playing air guitar during instrumental segments, drumming on imaginary drums and, in the case of Kershaw’s performance, fiddling up a storm with an imaginary violin. He or she would sway, dance and stomp to convey the rhythm. A second interpreter, seated in the front row, acted as a prompter, relaying lyrics that the on-stage interpreter might have missed.

“It was an experiment that turned out really well,” said Perkowski, who credits performers with helping the team’s efforts get off to a good start. “They made us feel welcome on stage. One member of Restless Heart asked me after the first show how to sign some words to ‘Say What’s in Your Heart.’ During the second show, he signed the words himself. I saw hands going up in the audience and I knew that the deaf people out there were thrilled.”

Steven Longacre, principal of a Santa Ana elementary school for the deaf and hearing-impaired, said he hopes the practice of using interpreters at live performances spreads to other venues.

“The deaf are always looking for this kind of opportunity. It makes them feel included,” said Longacre, who is hearing-impaired. “The deaf need equal access to the same entertainment and information as hearing people, but they miss out because films, concerts and plays are rarely interpreted. I think this proves it can be done.”