This paper explores the link between language, material and embodied resources in the service encounter type of theatre box office interactions, drawing from video recorded interactions in two Swedish and one Finnish box office. It especially tries to promote our grasp of the role of artefacts for structuring and easing communicative events in (institutional) interaction. Artefacts are pivotal in raising intersubjectivity and mutual focus as they effectively solicit the participants for negotiation. They are also a resource for notifying interactional inaccessibility. It is also percived that speech can be paced to match an artefact's evolution so that a focal verbal item is generated without rivalling, simultaneous physical activity.