Interactive toys, tips and what actually happens

Many performers use a small toy that reacts to tips: a certain number of tokens triggers a vibration of a certain strength for a certain time. It's the most direct link between the audience and the stage, and it's worth understanding before you use it.

How it works

The performer connects the toy to the room. A menu shows tip levels, for example a low level for a short buzz, higher levels for longer or stronger ones, and sometimes special patterns. When your tip matches a level, the toy reacts a few seconds later. Everyone in the room sees the reaction; nobody but the performer knows exactly what they feel.

Reading the levels

Levels are cumulative in some rooms (tips add up into a longer reaction) and one-shot in others. The room's menu says which. If it's not clear, ask; a performer will happily explain their own settings.

Good habits

• Start low. A small tip tells you how fast the toy reacts and how the performer responds.
• Don't chain tips to force a reaction. It's rude and it doesn't work better.
• If several people tip at once, the toy queues the reactions. Give it a moment.
• Tip for what you're enjoying, not to test the equipment.

Control sessions

Some performers offer a timed session where you get direct control of the toy through a slider, in private or in public. It's a paid item on the menu, priced for a set number of minutes. It's the one case where you are really operating the toy rather than tipping a level.

The rest is a show

Toys are one part of a room, not the whole of it. The performers who use them well treat them as a way to make the audience part of the show, and the audience who enjoys them most is the one that talks, tips at the right moments, and lets the performer set the pace.