GOINGS ON SANTA BARBARA : Arts Marathon : Three performance companies will be opening their seasons and others will visit.

On your marks, get set, go.

If you plan to attend all of the artistic events in Santa Barbara in the coming week, you had better bring along a pair of running shoes.

It will be a virtual arts marathon.

For one thing, no fewer than three performance companies will open their 1991-92 seasons:

* First, the Santa Barbara Dance Theatre (which from 1976 until this year was known as the Repertory West Dance Theatre) will kick off its season with a six-number show tonight. The group, based at UC Santa Barbara, is headed by Artistic Director Jerry Pearson.

It’s not just the group’s name that has changed. In the past, the company pretty much changed members with each concert. Now, the troupe is made up of six full-time professional dancers.

The group is also trying to connect with the community more, hence the opening show in downtown Santa Barbara. Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 (general) and $10 (senior). Call 963-0761.

* The Community Arts Music Assn. (CAMA) will open its 73rd year Saturday with a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Daniele Gatti, with guest conductor-violinist Shlomo Mintz.

The program will feature Sibelius’ Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47, Puccini’s “Capriccio Sinfonico,” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6.

The balance of the season will feature visits by the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Soviet Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. The opening concert will be at the Arlington Theater, 1317 State St., beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $48, $36, $24 and $18. Call 966-4324.

* Cellist Lynn Harrell will be the guest soloist and conductor when the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra opens its season with performances Sunday and Tuesday at the Lobero Theatre. Hardly the septuagenarian that CAMA is, the Chamber Orchestra is entering its 13th season.

The program for the two shows will include Mozart’s Adagio in E major, Haydn’s Concerto for Cello No. 1 in C, Beethoven’s “Coriolan Overture,” and Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B flat. Sunday’s concert will begin at 4 p.m., Tuesday’s concert at 8 p.m. The Lobero is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Tickets are $25 for either show. Call 963-0761.

Is that enough to keep you busy? No? Good.

Artist Mark (Heusso) Heussenstamm will show--and, he hopes--sell his whimsical aquatic artwork at the Santa Barbara Art Company beginning tomorrow. In keeping with the fishy theme, the exhibit is being called “Well Schooled.” Don’t groan, Heussenstamm’s first American exhibit was titled “Wipe That Grin Off Your Fish.” The art gallery is at 25 W. Gutierrez St. For more information call 569-3123.

The touring Reduced Shakespeare Company will visit the Lobero Theatre Saturday to perform all 37 of the Bard’s works. As is the group’s custom, the plays will be quick and offbeat, starting with the 30-minute “Romeo and Juliet” and wrapping up with a five-minute “Hamlet.” Last year’s show was a sellout. Show times are 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 and $15. Call 963-0761.

The widely acclaimed Maria Benitez Spanish Dance Company will combine flamenco with traditional classical and folk dancing from Spain for a show at UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall tomorrow night. The group has performed throughout the United States and Europe since Benitez and her husband, Cecilio, launched it in 1972. General admission for this 8 p.m. show is $16, $14 and $10. Call 893-3535.

Right on Benitez’s fast-moving heels, the National Council for the Traditional Arts will bring “Juke Joints and Jubilee” to UCSB’s Campbell Hall on Sunday. The show will look at African-American traditions in music and dance. These traditions will be illustrated by gospel artist Fontella Bass, blues musician and juba dancer John Dee Holeman, rhythm and blues band the Holmes Brothers, and the a cappella gospel quintet the Birmingham Sunlights. The program will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $16, $14 and $10. Call 893-3535.