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Phu moved on and Gillies teamed up in 1977 with Nick Gregory, a former semiprofessional tennis player who was at Temple University . Gregory grew up in the Boston area and was influenced by Harvard Square juggler Alan Jacobs and by the club passing to music of the Fantasy Jugglers. He introduced the troupe to that technique, and used tennis racquets instead of clubs.

"Nick learned to juggle from his girlfriend, who learned from Hovey Burgess, who invented juggling," Gillies said, laughing.

"Nick is absolutely wonderful with children," he said. "He has a smile that's absolutely winning. He's 6'5" and wears a top hat that makes him look bigger. To the kids, he looks like a friendly giant."

The performance requests were coming in steadily enough so that Gillies felt comfortable in giving up his teaching job in 1983. Two former fifth graders who are now high school seniors, David Cousins and Steven McMeniman, have evolved as part-time regular performers.

The four men now perform in three different two-person teams. That means that the Give and Take Jugglers can be in two places at one time, or that one person can take a vacation while the others continue performing!

There's apparently plenty of work for all four. Gillies reported doing 380 performances in 1987, at an average charge of $250-$400 each. "David and Steveo are going to pay for their college education with the money they've saved," he said.

The group's bookings are almost all local, and based on repeat business and personal referral. They spend nothing on advertising and promotion.

"We have never had to go out and get jobs," Gillies said. "All the jobs come to us. People see us, like us and call us."

Almost half of their bookings come from schools. They also play festivals, parties and Bar Mitzvahs. They have opened for magician/comic Harry Anderson and for Henny Youngman, and Gillies and Cousins still love playing the streets.

"We have about a dozen customers who have had us back eight or nine years in a row," Gillies said, "the Philadelphia Flyers Christmas party, a local television station staff party. There are even a couple of middle schools in New Jersey where we've gotten a kind of cult following and the kids demand to have us back every year. "

The repeat audiences also like to anticipate the routines and jokes, which don't change much from year to year. Each team performs basically the same routine, with slight variations. depending on the expertise of the individuals.