People quietly hustled in to the tiny Jurkowitz Theatre Saturday to see “All in the Timing.”

The house was full as everyone prepared for a night of one-acts written by David Ives, and produced by City College’s Rick Mokler.

The play began with an act called “Words, Words, Words,” in which three monkeys (Alex Hawkins, Emily Jette, and Kent Levenson) sat at typewriters where a “Dr. Rosenbaum” waits for them to produce William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

The script was witty, with Milton (Levenson) requesting that he might “retire for a shot of papaya and some masturbation.”

And a monkey named Swift claiming that he relieved himself on a carton of Marlboros as a “political statement,” but the act didn’t feel like it was going anywhere and needed to end.

However, the next act, “English Made Simple,” was a very clever insight in to the true meanings of small talk a former couple engage in when they meet at a party, done in several different contexts.

The two characters Jack (Shane Rose) and Jill (Marisa Freeman) jumped from cordial, nervous acquaintances, to bitter, slightly intoxicated ex-lovers.

Their words were translated by a woman over the loudspeaker (Jenna Scanlon) to reveal what they are really thinking.

For example, “What have you been doing with yourself?” (Freeman) translated to “Are you still sleeping with that slut from City College?” (Scanlon).

The truthfulness of the piece was hilarious and the versatility of both Freeman and Rose was very impressive.

The best of the whole show was “Dr. Fritz, or: The Forces of Life.” An American tourist, Tom (Jordan Baum) has food poisoning and searches for a doctor, only to come across an insane souvenir seller named Maria (Devin Ashley Dworsky) who calls Tom “seahorse.”

This was the most outlandish piece, especially when Maria puts on a bloody apron and a headband with a CD strapped to it and begins beating Tom with a broom. The chemistry between the actors was excellent and kept the audience screaming with laughter.

The next act, “The Mystery of Twicknam Vicarage” was also hilarious, especially with the actors’ thick English accents, of whom Roger Penworthy-Pilks (Josh Jenkins) was the most hilarious as he pulled off the old English chap very well.

Unfortunately, the show went a bit downhill after that act. Following intermission, “Foreplay, or the Art of the Fugue” was about three young men who take their dates to a miniature golf course and try to use the game to get the girls into bed with them. The characters were irritating, and the act became repetitive and seemed to head nowhere.

A severe twist to the show was brought by the next short, “Bolero,” about a woman (Suzanne Tufan Mikunas) who hears noises in the apartment next door and becomes desperate to find out what’s going on.

The act was ineffective and annoying, as nothing really happened. The characters also were not very likable.

The last piece, “Degas, C’est Moi,” was about an unemployed man (Robert Adams) who decides to be Degas, the dead French impressionist painter, for a day.

This was an excellent performance by Adams, who, for a man with nothing to do all day, made it quite exciting pretending to be another person.

All things considered, “All in the Timing” was a well done performance and the crowd was sincerely satisfied.

The actors proved to be very versatile and most of the acts were truly hilarious.