Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

POP/ROCK

Why He Left: Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland walked out of a court-ordered drug treatment program this week after he read a report in Spin magazine that his bandmates were rumored to be seeking a replacement for the singer, a drug counselor who has worked with Weiland said Friday. “He said he felt like he had to leave and try to find out what was going on and fix everything,” counselor Bob Timmins said of the 28-year-old Weiland, who on Thursday was allowed by Pasadena Municipal Court Judge Elvira R. Mitchell to reenter the Pasadena treatment center after spending 48 hours outside the facility. Meanwhile, Stone Temple Pilots manager Steve Stewart said the band has not fired Weiland and is not auditioning singers. “None of those rumors are true,” he said. Weiland, arrested in May of 1995 when sheriff’s deputies allegedly found cocaine in his car and heroin in his wallet, was ordered to court on April 29 to determine if he had violated his parole. The court ordered him to spend four to six months in a drug treatment program. Before that, his drug problems had prompted the Stone Temple Pilots to cancel their planned summer tour.

Shots Scatter Rap Crowd: At least 30 people were injured in a stampede Thursday after shots were fired near an outdoor rap concert in Harlem that included performers KRS-One, the Fugees and Wu-Tang Clan. Many in the crowd of about 15,000 tried to scatter after hearing several shots; police officers tackled Christie Conway, 20, a paroled ex-convict who was seen firing the gun that set off the panic. She was arrested and charged with weapon possession, reckless endangerment and inciting to riot, police said. Twenty-one injured concert goers were taken to area hospitals and more were treated at the scene. Most suffered cuts and bruises and none had life-threatening injuries, authorities said. The concert, organized by the group Refugee Project, headed by rapper Sister Souljah, had been organized to promote peace, unity and voter registration. The shots were fired during the performance by Wu-Tang Clan, the event’s closing act.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

New Symphony Plan Fails: An effort by San Diego Mayor Susan Golding to create a new symphony in the city was defeated Thursday as the City Council approved San Diego’s $1.5-billion budget for fiscal 1997 without including Golding’s request to take $200,000 from existing arts programs and create a “Symphonic Trust Fund.” Golding’s plan had drawn fire from some council members who said that the existing arts programs had already been told of their allocations and had made plans for the money. Despite several last-ditch efforts to save the company, the debt-plagued San Diego Symphony folded after declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy late last month. But Golding said she has talked to significant donors who are ready to contribute to a new symphony as soon as a viable nonprofit organization is in place.

MOVIES

The Bad News: The low proportion of both minority and female film directors--already a subject of rancor among both groups--declined further in 1995, according to the Directors Guild of America’s latest annual report on women and minority hiring. “These numbers are an embarrassment and a loss to our industry, and they underline the need for a renewal of efforts by all industry leaders to address the problem,” DGA President Gene Reynolds said of the report, which tracked each group’s percentage of days worked on films against the total number of days worked by all DGA members. Ethnic minorities accounted for only 4% of work by DGA directors, down from 5.1% in 1994 and also below the 5.2% reported in 1983, the study’s first year. In the gender study, women performed only 8% of the directing work in 1995, slightly down from the previous year’s 9%. In 1983 female directors accounted for only 3% of the work.

TELEVISION

The Good News: In contrast to the Directors Guild findings, a recent Screen Actors Guild study shows positive news for ethnic minority actors who work in TV commercials--the leading source of income among all actors. Minority performers made steady gains in the field last year, accounting for 21.4% of all SAG actors employed in commercials in 1995, up from 20% in 1994. SAG officials cited increased efforts to market products to the black middle-class. The study showed black performers had the most commercial jobs among ethnic groups, at 11.7% or 9,910 jobs, up from 1994’s 9.4%.

QUICK TAKES

John Davidson, whose Broadway role in “State Fair” will end when the show closes Sunday, will play Will Rogers in Theater League’s “The Will Rogers Follies,” Sept. 10-15 at Glendale’s Alex Theatre and Sept. 17-22 at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Davidson replaces the previously announced William Katt, who left for “personal reasons.” Jamie Farr will play Rogers’ father. . . . Massachusetts’ Williamstown Theatre, where paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve first met his wife, Dana Morisini, was dedicated to the couple Thursday. During the dedication, Reeve took the microphone and described how he was “captivated” when he first heard Morisini sing in the theater. She then took the stage and sang the same song she had performed that night nine years ago: “The Music That Makes Me Dance.”