While most of us would choose to sit back and relax when shown to a lawn chair, Andrew Potter once preferred to grab two or more and toss them in the air, or just about anything else he could get his hands on. During the juggler's 17-year stint doing stunts, he performed first in San Francisco, then all across America and on to Japan, then Italy, where, in Milan, he won an award with fellow busker, Wheeler Cole. And though they did not tell fortunes, they had the foresight to videotape numerous performances as the "High Street Circus", the name of their act.

Andrew Potter, now a musician, digital storyteller and video producer brings his multimedia performance piece, "The Road to High Street", to Kenyon Hall Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 pm.

He mixes stories of his old street performing days with the High Street Circus with images, archival photos and tightly edited video clips. He tells these stories to the audience with a mixture of banter, comedy, and guitar playing.

"Wheeler and I were undergraduates at University of Rhode Island," said Potter, who was raised in Peace Dale, a town in that state. "In 1979 the Flying Karamozov Brothers performed at our school. They've gone on to perform at the top venues of the world. We met them and they told us they started with street performance in San Francisco, so that gave us the idea to move out there to become street performers. We moved there in '81."

He said that he and Cole were considered "deadbeats" by landlords there and they were lucky to find a dwelling to rent, for $200, one of several empty beer tanks in the forlorn, former Hamms Brewery building. They started making some cash performing, and the impressed landlord relocated them to his penthouse suite, the "Yeast Culture Room", in one month. They stayed a year.

Eventually they performed at Pier 39, a tourist mecca in the city. There was a stage, and performers took turns, more organized, and lucrative, than working a corner.

"Back in the day we'd do our shows in front of 400 folks, two or three a day, four or five days a week at Pier 39. They had a big stage with 10 or 12 acts at specific times. You'd do your 30 minute show, pass the hat, wait, do it again. You make most of your money in the summer time.

"There are actually many performers who make their living at it," he said. "I have lots of friends who travel all over the world, not just doing streets, but also doing comedy clubs, theaters, all kinds of venues. You need to have a connection with the audience. It's not just about technique."

Potter and Cole knew the late Seattle street performer, Hokum W. Jeebs, who helped them break into the business back in San Francisco. Kenyon Hall was called Hokum Hall for him.

"He used to perform in San Francisco in the '80's," Potter recalled. "I knew him from there. He occasionally produced shows and would hire performers. He hired Wheeler and me. We did several shows with him over the years."

A portion of Potter's show will include a video montage of Jeebs performing a variety of unusual instruments.

"In mid-90's my wife took a job in Boston and we moved," Potter said. "I attended Emerson College there and got my masters (degree) in video. That is when I started working on this show."

According to Kenyon Hall's website:

*For Andrew Potter, reserved table seats are $14. Row seating is $12 general and $10 seniors. With a reservation row seating is only $10 general and $8 seniors. Elementary, middle, and high school students are $5. Pre-school children are free. To make a reservation, please e-mail kenyonhall@earthlink.net. You'll receive an e-mail confirming your reservation.