GOINGS ON / SANTA BARBARA : Bard Choices : Shakespeare comes alive on film and onstage with Orson Welles’ ‘Othello’ and a production of ‘Macbeth.’

If you’re looking for a little Shakespeare, UC Santa Barbara may be the place to go. The university’s “Shakespeare on Film” series will continue with a showing of “Othello” today at 4 and 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. The 1952 production was directed by and stars Orson Welles. General admission is $5. Call 893-3535.

Not enough of the Bard? The department of dramatic art will present Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at the Studio Theatre Friday through Sunday and Feb. 23 to 27 at 8 p.m. There will also be 2 p.m. performances Sunday, and Feb. 27 and 28. General admission is $8.50. Call 893-3535.

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Actor Lee Stetson will make his annual return to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Friday night in another of his portrayals of naturalist-writer John Muir. “An Evening With John Muir--Conversations With a Tramp” will be presented at the museum’s Fleischmann Auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5. The museum is at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road. For more information, call 682-4711.

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The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will perform at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theater on Friday night as part of the Community Arts Music Assn. concert season.

The program will include Wagner’s Overture to “The Flying Dutchman,” Dohanyi’s Suite in F Sharp Minor and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra. Concertmistress Nina Bodnar will be the soloist.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18, $24, $36 and $48. Call 966-4324. The theater is at 1317 State St.

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Theatreworks USA, a New York-based theater company for kids, will bring the musical version of the Jackie Robinson story to Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre for two shows Sunday. Robinson became the first black ballplayer in the Major Leagues when he signed on with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

The musical, titled “Play to Win,” will be presented at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Admission is $9.50 for adults and $6.50 for children. Call 963-0761. The theater is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

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Sure, it’s a long haul to San Luis Obispo, but if you can take in two events in one trip, it might be worth it. That double feature is a possibility Saturday, if you do a little juggling.

First, the city will hold its 15th Annual Mardi Gras Celebration with the theme “Greatest Show on Earth.” (That’s a good theme, but hasn’t it been used somewhere before?)

Festivities will kick off with a downtown street fair on Garden Street from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be music, food, costume workshops and a gumbo cook-off. A float parade will proceed through downtown beginning at 7:15 p.m., ending up at the Veterans Memorial Building for the masked ball and buffet starting about 8:30 p.m.

The veterans building is at 801 Grand Ave. Admission to the ball is $25. Costumes are required. For more information on these events, call 781-2777.

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The second part of Saturday’s San Luis Obispo entertainment is the annual dinner-dance benefiting the San Luis Obispo County Symphony. This year’s version is dubbed “The Night They Invented Champagne.”

The festivities will begin with cocktails at 7 p.m.--the same time as the Mardi Gras parade. A four-course dinner with background music by harpist Jennifer Sayre will follow. Dancing to the music of San Luis Jazz will begin at 9 p.m. Admission is $65. Black tie is suggested. Call 543-3533 for reservations and more information.

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The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will present the fourth concert of its 1992-93 season Tuesday night at the Lobero Theatre. The program will include Ireland’s “A Downland Suite,” Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” and Bartok’s “Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.” The performance will begin at 8 p.m. General admission is $20. Call 963-0761.

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Here’s one for those of you who like to experience the great outdoors from indoors, preferably with some buttered popcorn.

UCSB will present the “Best of the 17th Annual Banff Festival of Mountain Films” Wednesday at the Isla Vista Theater. The festival is held annually in Alberta, Canada, for adventure, mountain and wilderness films submitted from around the world.

Show time is 7 p.m. General admission is $8. Call 893-3535. The theater is located at 960 Embarcadero del Norte.