There has got to be a better way to do this

Hey Everyone,
Ive been using flash for a relatively decent amount of time but for the life of me i cant figure out how to do what i would consider a relatively simple effect easily. The effect being using lines to create shapes now what i mean by that is say i want to have the effect of a line starting somewhere and drawing a circle or a line making a square or a hexagon and so on. The only way i have achieved things like that is by making the shape i want and then using shape tweens with masks to make the illusion that the line is drawing itself into the shapes. BUT I KNOW THERE HAS GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY!!! As the constant readjustment of shape tweens to get them to move smoothly is such a pain so i was wondering if anyone has any thoughts. Ive seen Voets beautiful AS that draws the circle but i really was wondering if there was a way to do it without AS.
Thanks alot,
Chris