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Steamboat Springs — Allan Jacobs and Barrett Felker both have a phobia of being called on stage when sitting in an audience.

"So we treat our volunteers very well and have good stage karma," said Felker, juggler and Gizmo Guy. "We don't think anyone deserves to come see us and be humiliated in front of their friends."

Although Felker would not divulge what their volunteers would be asked to do, he did share some other ways The Gizmo Guys will incorporate audience members into their act at the Steamboat Springs Mountain Theater this weekend.

"If something happens in the audience - if somebody says something, is taking photos, arriving late or leaving early - we can work that into the show," he said.

The Gizmo Guys try to appeal to all audience members.

"The main thing for us is that we create a fun family event," Felker said. "I know a lot of people say, 'It's fun for all ages,' but parents can come not dreading it is just some kiddy thing, and vice versa."

When putting together their act, Felker and Jacobs try to incorporate as many elements of technique, musicality and comedy as they can into the performance.

"We always try to have good technique so what we are doing is nice to look at and is very engaging for the younger audiences," Felker said. "But adults don't necessarily want to sit and watch people juggle for an hour. They want to be engaged with the people on stage."

Felker and Jacobs have been performing together for 20 years and have been juggling for more than 30 years. But their careers began independent of each other.

"We were self-taught to the extent that neither one of us had a teacher," Felker said. "We both discovered juggling as a physical hobby and started just working on the street."

Jacobs worked the streets of Boston, and Felker juggled on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.

"I worked out there for four years altogether, mostly from Memorial Day to Labor Day," Felker said. "I was 19, and my bills were pretty low. We were paying $80 to $90 a month for rent, and at that age, nobody knew you had to have health insurance."

The Gizmo Guys now live in Manhattan and mainly tour the United States and Canada.

"We have also performed in Chili, Japan, Saudi Arabia : and we've worked in Singapore," Felker said. "And through the years, our gigs have gotten better and the nightmare experiences have gotten fewer and fewer."