Avner the Eccentric, who returns to the University of Maine on Saturday, Sept. 22, to open the 1990-1991 Great Adventures season at the Maine Center for the Arts, is not a traditional clown.

For example, Avner Eisenberg, who takes the stage at 8 p.m. in the center’s Hutchins Concert Hall in conjunction with Family and Friends’ Weekend, is not a circus clown. And he doesn’t present a children’s show as such. Although the program is appropriate for a family audience, Avner the Eccentric is a sophisticated adult show. In fact, Eisenberg has been called the thinking man’s clown.

Described as one of the world’s funniest men, Avner the Eccentric offers an evening of mime, acrobatics and fun for the whole family. For ticket information, call the MCA Box Office at 581-1755 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Eisenberg, who also appeared at the Maine Center for the Arts in November 1987, keeps busy in film, television and theater.