TODAY’S CALENDAR: OUT AND ABOUT IN ORANGE COUNTY

THEATER

“In the Western Garden,” Stuart Spencer’s new play exploring the meaning of art, will be read at South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. The reading kicks off SCR’s 1999/2000 NewSCRipts series. 7:30 p.m. $8. (714) 705-5555.

SPORTS

Woodbridge High girls’ tennis team, ranked second in the county, hosts seventh-ranked Laguna Beach, 2 Meadowbrook, Irvine. 3 p.m. Free. (949) 936-7969.

Chapman University’s soccer teams host a doubleheader against Concordia University, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. The women play at 5 p.m., the men at 7:30. $5. (714) 997-6691.

FILM

“The Innocents” (1961), Jack Clayton’s thriller, starring Deborah Kerr and Michael Redgrave, screens in Room 208 of Chapman University’s Argyros Forum, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. Truman Capote and William Archibald wrote the script based on Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw.” It screens at 7 p.m. as part of the university’s wide-screen cinema series. Free. (714) 997-6765.

MUSIC

Australian pianist Duncan Gifford, winner of the 1998 Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition in Spain, performs at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. 7 p.m. $10-$20. (562) 916-8500.

JAZZ & BLUES

The Don Miller Orchestra plays swing at Birraporetti’s, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. Free. (714) 850-9090.

Walter Lakota & the David Alcantar Duo play jazz at Mama Gina’s Ristorante, 251 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. 8 p.m. Free. (949) 673-9500.

The Spontaneous Combustion Jazz Band plays at Old Towne Brewing Co., 186 N. Atchison St., Orange. 7:30 p.m. Free. (714) 744-4181.

The John Peace Super Big Band plays at Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. 8 p.m. Cover and minimum. (714) 871-8800.

POP & ROCK

The Alan Parsons Project plays rock at the Sun Theatre, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 8 p.m. $27.50. (714) 712-2700.

The No 1 Z plays rock at the Shack, 1160 N. Kraemer Blvd., Anaheim. 7 p.m. Free. (714) 630-0121.

COFFEE TALK

Socrates Cafe, a chance for amateur philosophers to discuss everything from ethics to aesthetics in a low-key and friendly atmosphere, is at Natale Coffee, 17th and Main streets, Santa Ana. Moderator Martin Young leads the group, which meets at 7 p.m. Free. (714) 547-2148.

KID STUFF

“Discovering Dinosaurs,” an exhibit exploring dinosaurs and fossils, opens at the Children’s Museum at La Habra, 301 S. Euclid St. Continuing through Jan. 23, the exhibit features a hands-on excavation pit, fossil exhibits, an art exhibit using dinosaur bones and skin, and a touchable dinosaur leg bone. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $4. Free for children under 2. (562) 905-9793.

“Dinosaur Discovery,” a chance for children ages 2 to 4 to learn about Earth at the time of the dinosaurs and make a dinosaur to take home, is at the Oak Canyon Nature Center, 6700 E. Walnut Canyon Road, Anaheim Hills. 10-11 a.m. $3. (714) 998-8380.

EXHIBITS

Surfing Extravaganza exhibit on the origins of surfing, continues at Heritage of San Clemente Visitor Center, 415 N. El Camino Real. Daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. through Oct. 30. (949) 369-1299.

“From Orange Groves to Digital Gardens,” a multimedia exhibit including music, video, animation, computer graphics, photos, lasers and interactive presentations documenting the history of Cal State Fullerton, is on view in the campus Library Atrium Gallery, 800 N. State College Blvd. 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. Through May 31. (714) 278-2990.

LECTURE

Landscape painter Geoffrey Krueger discusses his work and his influences at the Art Forum, Room C-104, Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St. 12:30 p.m. Free. (714) 564-5625.

ART

“Optic Nerve,” photographs by Amy Cantrell, Frances Clare, Dennis Doran, Kay Erickson, Frank Goroszko, Bob Jakobsen and others, opens at the Cypress College Photography Galleries, 9200 Valley View St. 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Free. Ends Nov. 5. (714) 484-7000, Ext. 48242.

“Ideas in Things,” art by David Ireland, Lynn Aldrich, Tom Friedman, Rachel Lachowicz, William Anastasi and others, continues through Oct. 31, and “Pho Fashion,” work by fashion photographers Patrik Anderson, Eika Aoshima, Alex Cao, Craig De Cristo, Cheryl Dunn, and others, is on view through Nov. 7, at the Irvine Fine Arts Center, 14321 Yale Ave. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Free. (949) 724-6880.

“The California Watercolor Movement,” paintings by Emil Kosa Jr., Phil Dike, David Levine, Millard Sheets and Rex Brandt, continues at the Orange County Museum of Art/South Coast Plaza Gallery, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Free. Ends Oct. 31 (714) 662-3366.

“Portfolios,” paintings, photography, mixed media, sculpture and video installations by five emerging Southern California artists, including Nicole Cohen, Alvin Gregorio, Spanda Moradmand, Paco Shima and Mark Tsang, is on view at the Saddleback College Art Gallery, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free. Through Oct. 14. (949) 582-4924.

“Fragmented Narratives: Five Contemporary Assemblage Artists,” recent works by Kai Bob Cheng, Karen Cook, George Herms, John Outterbridge and Genie Shenk, continues at the Cal State Fullerton Main Art Gallery, 800 N. State College Blvd. Noon-4 p.m. $3. Ends Oct. 14. (714) 278-3262.

LOOKING AHEAD

Country singer Suzy Bogguss performs at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. Anthony Rivera & Raining Horseshoes opens. 8 p.m. Tuesday. $18.50-$20.50. (714) 957-0600.

Ami Porat leads his Mozart Classical Orchestra in Cimarosa’s “Il Matrimonia per Raggiro” overture, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467 (with soloist Kirill Gliadkovsky), and Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. 8 p.m. Tuesday. $20-$36. (949) 854-4646.

Pacific Symphony music director Carl St.Clair speaks at a luncheon sponsored by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra League at the Clubhouse at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast. 11 a.m. Tuesday. $50. (949) 717-6000.

The San Francisco Ballet’s presentations of “Giselle,” by Helgi Tomasson, begin at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $10-$86. Continues Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (714) 556-2787.

The Village People sing at Irvine Spectrum Center, 65 Fortune Drive. 7 p.m. Thursday. $10-$20. (949) 650-5483.

Virginia Nesmith, executive director of the National Farm Worker Ministry, speaks on the role and conditions of farm workers in the economy at the United Nations Assn., 2428 N. Grand Ave., Suite F, Santa Ana. 7 p.m. Thursday. Study guides available for $5. (714) 542-9743.

“Swingtime Canteen,” a World War II-era musical comedy about an all-girl band from Hollywood that travels to London to perform for soldiers, will be staged at Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Part of Cal State Fullerton’s Professional Artists in Residence series. 8 p.m. Friday. $20-$25. (714) 278-3371.

Ballet Pacifica’s 1999/2000 Ballet for Children series opens Saturday with Molly Lynch’s “Peter and the Wolf” and Kathy Kahn’s “Weather or Not” at the Festival of Arts Forum Theater, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Noon, 2 and 4 p.m. $9-$11. Also 10 a.m., noon, 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. (949) 851-9930.

If you have an event you would like included here, send information at least 10 days in advance to Ken Williams, Orange County Calendar, Los Angeles Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Fax: (714) 966- 7790.

--Compiled by Ken Williams