Despite his hearing impairment, Jonathan Pollino of Plainview has created a full life, both at home and at school. One place Pollino never imagined he'd be is on stage, acting, singing and cracking jokes in a play.

But throughout June, Pollino has been doing just that, rehearsing on the stage of Long Island Children's Museum to prepare with nine other hearing-impaired children who have speech capabilities to perform in the No Limits Theater production of Believe It or Not.

The cast of 10, under the direction of Steve Gemano, come from seven Nassau Schools, including the Mill Neck School for the Deaf, BOCES at Clarke Middle School and five public schools. The students, aged 6 to 13, will present a full production, with costumes, music, sets, professional lighting and staging.

No Limits, a not-for-profit organization based in Los Angeles, was founded in 1996 by Michelle Christie, a child actress who holds a master's degree in deaf education. She wove her two interests together in No Limits. "I felt there weren't a lot of resources for our kids and [theater] was a great way to increase vocabulary and language and development of speech through experience," she said in a phone interview from LA. "You put a costume on a kid and they'll just about do anything for you."

With the success on the West Coast, No Limits went national by packaging all the elements necessary for a show - an original script, costumes, music, sets, "everything but the director. He shows up to work with the kids on their lines, blocking and speech development," she said. Steve Gemano is directing the Long Island presentation.

So there are no distractions from learning the lines, the children perform in costume and with sets at most rehearsals. Christie said that "seeing" the words as part of a set or costume, and touching it, "will apply meaning to the word and they will learn it better."

Believe It or Not is a humorous look at the state of TV programming today. The show will be presented for the public at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20 at in the LICM theater. Performance only, $4; $2 with museum admission. Museum admission: $8 over 1-year-old; $7 seniors. Members and under 1 year free. Long Island Children's Museum, 11 Davis Ave., Garden City, off Chas. Lindbergh Blvd. For tickets, information, reservations: 224-5800 or www.licm.org.