BRIEFLY IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Alien invasion Sept. 8

No Square Theatre will present its 14th annual Lagunatics production, “A!ien !nvas!on,” on Sept. 8, 9 and 10 at the Artists’ Theatre at Laguna Beach High School, 625 Park Ave.

The musical parody revue will spoof tourists, parking, the arts, landslides, pollution, goats and even the Minutemen.

More than 40 singers and dancers will perform, including four City Council members and the chief of police. The show is directed by its creator, Bree Burgess Rosen, and is co-written with Chris Quilter. Robert York is musical director, and Vanessa Schneller is the choreographer. Bill Harris will narrate.

Performances will be Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 7 p.m.

The Saturday matinee price is $40. Friday and Saturday nights are $55, and the Sunday gala is $100.

Friday and Saturday night shows include a wine reception at Legion Hall, 384 Legion St., starting at 7 p.m. Ample free parking is available at both sites.

The Sunday show includes a gala 5 p.m. at Legion Hall, featuring martinis wines and finger foods. Dessert and coffee will be served at intermission, and there will be a free drawing.

Money raised will benefit the Artists’ Theatre purchase of a 16-foot stakebed truck.

For tickets or more information, call (949) 494-5021 or visit www.nosquare.org.

College faculty exhibits at mausoleum in Santa Ana

The Laguna College of Art & Design presents “Filling in Pauses: Moments of Timelessness” at the Fairhaven Mausoleum, 1702 Fairhaven Ave., Santa Ana, through Sept. 10.

The exhibition will feature more than 50 pieces by the faculty and alumni of Laguna College of Art & Design in the 20,000-square-foot Greek Revival space, built in 1916.

Exhibition hours are Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

A black-and-white digital image presentation on Europe’s cathedral spaces by Jeff LeFever will he held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, through Sunday, Sept. 10.

Bill Havlicek, professor of art history at Laguna College of Art & Design, will lecture at 7 p.m. Saturday on “Redemption and Art, a Study of the Last Works of Van Gogh.”

Live music will be offered Sunday at 4 p.m. A consort will demonstrate the acoustics of the mausoleum with selected pieces composed throughout the ages by Italian, French and German masters.

Latin jazz this Sunday

The city summer concert series will hold its last concert at Bluebird Park at 5 p.m. Sunday, with Latin jazz band Chico.

Next week, the series will move to Riddle Field, High Drive at Hillcrest Drive, for rock and soul artists Soundbyte on Sept. 10, from 4 to 6 p.m.

For more information, call (949) 497-0722.

Faculty exhibition at Laguna College

Laguna College of Art and Design faculty members open a new exhibition today.

The free exhibition, which will run through Sept. 27, will be held at the college gallery, located at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Complimentary parking is available.

The show will feature more than 50 pieces of two- and three-dimensional works, including drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture and digital presentations.

An opening reception will be held during First Thursdays Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m.

Laguna Dance Festival sneak peek

A Sneak Peek reception for the 2006 Laguna Dance Festival (formerly CaDance) will be held at the Surf & Sand Resort’s Catalina Terrace, 1555 S. Coast Highway, on Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Food and wine will be offered, and a preview performance will be held. Attendees will also have a chance to win an opportunity for a New York City weekend trip for two.

Space is limited; admission is $50 per person. RSVP by Monday to (949) 715-5578.

Dance, film at gallery reception

Marion Meyer Contemporary Art will feature a variety of dance-related experiences at its Art Walk reception, beginning 6 p.m. Thursday.

The events will debut the gallery’s new dance-related exhibition featuring “Dancing Gestures” by Rita Blitt, which includes wall sculpture and drawings, and dance photography by Lois Greenfield, including images from the duo’s “Caught in Paint” collaboration.

From 6 to 8 p.m., the gallery will show a film screening of “Caught in Paint,” which portrays Blitt painting on clear mylar while the Parsons Dance Company performed behind it.

A dance performance featuring Laguna Dance Festival talent will begin at 7 p.m.

Blitt will be in attendance at the reception from 6 to 9 p.m.

For more information, call the gallery at (949) 497-5442.

LOCA annual members meeting Sept. 12

The Laguna Outreach for Community Arts’ annual members meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at Aliso Creek Inn, 31106 S. Coast Highway.

After the meeting, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., art appraiser Miriam Smith will speak on how to become an educated collector, including appraising art, what to look for when purchasing and how to research an artist.

The group will also hold a chance auction; entertainment, a no-host bar and appetizers will also be available. Admission will be free to members and $15 for nonmembers.

For more information, call Bonnie Macmillan at (949) 715-5568.

Designer toy panel slated for Sept. 17

The Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, will host a panel in conjunction with its current exhibition, “Pervasion: The Art of Gary Baseman and Tim Biskup,” at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17.

Panelists will include artists Gary Baseman and Tim Biskup; Patrick Lam, owner of the Munky King designer toy emporium in downtown Los Angeles; and Jamie O’Shea, former “Juxtapoz” magazine editor.

The discussion will center around the “urban vinyl” designer toy movement. There will be a signing afterward in the Museum Store.

For more information, call (949) 494-8971 or visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org.

Art trip to Riverside Sept. 30

The Laguna Art Museum’s Contemporary Collectors Council will take a trip to Riverside Sept. 30 to learn more about the city’s burgeoning arts community.

The group will meet at Laguna Beach High School at 8:30 a.m., and will begin with a trip to the Sam Maloof Studio and Foundation, followed by a viewing of the private collection of Andi Campognone and Alex Couwenberg.

They will then have lunch in Riverside, followed by visits to the Riverside Art Museum and UC Riverside’s Museum of Photography and Sweeney Art Gallery.

The group will return to Laguna at 4:30 p.m.

For more information on the trip, contact the museum at (949) 494-8971 or visit the museum’s website at www.lagunaartmusum.org.