A mere four days of rehearsal, 11 different directors, 10 individual plays, a cast of 18 ensemble members playing multiple roles and a limited budget — for a normal show, this combination of abnormalities would set the stage for disaster. However, in Mask and Bauble’s second show of the season, it’s just part of the fun.

The show’s producers have actually planned for this time-limited production since early March. ”All in the Timing” features 10 one-act plays written by David Ives, but the most intriguing aspect of their workshop production involves the condensed schedule, which is a new practice in Georgetown theater. This plan allows talented new directors and actors to interact with veterans in shows that require little time commitment but offer experience in an enjoyable setting.

Gillian Bentley (COL ’08), executive producer of Mask and Bauble, described the frantic production as crucial for the club. “The theater community at Georgetown is growing, and we want to continue to give people opportunities,” she said. “We’re training our army of artistic directors for the future, and this gives a lot of people the ability to take part.”

She described “All in the Timing” as low on technical aspects, such as costume and scenery, but high on acting and directing. The theme of the work is “very funny, but it depends a lot on spontaneity,” she said. “We’re getting younger talent, and they’re getting more experience.”

The plan to produce “All in the Timing” first developed when Mask and Bauble member Austin Williams (SFS ’08) proposed the idea to the group’s executive board in early spring of this year. After the board approved the show as its low-budget workshop production, Tyler Spalding (SFS ’08) immediately became interested and applied for the role of producer. He landed the role in the spring and spent the summer working through his vision of the process. At the opening of the school year in September, the production staff began to seek directors and worked through the final brainstorming and planning stages. Auditions for cast members took place in October, with Artistic Director Jamieson Baker (SFS ’08) in charge of casting the ensemble.

By the time the show opens this Friday, the directors and cast members will have met for seven hours before Thanksgiving and rehearsed intensely for only four days before opening night. Prior to rehearsal, the groups assigned to the various plays met separately to read through the scripts and prepare the blocking. Nov. 26 marked the first day that all actors and directors met together in the same space to rehearse. Spalding described the entire process as a “fly-by-our-bootstraps theater experience.”

“All in the Timing” features 10 of Ives’ 14 absurd yet introspective one-act plays. Although the plays all show relationships in somewhat expected plotlines, each is different with various memorable idiosyncrasies.

“Sure Thing,” one of the plays performed by Mask and Bauble, revolves around a man and a woman who meet in a cafe. At the sound of a bell, they are forced to recreate their awkward conversation time and again until true love blossoms.

Ives exaggerates the universality of emotions by having monkeys as the main characters of “Words, Words, Words.” A scientist hopes to prove that if monkeys type to infinity, they will eventually reproduce “Hamlet.” However, the monkeys have their own ideas. In a quirky play like this, director Sarah Taurchini (COL ’08) said that “as long as you can put your faith in your actors, you’re golden.”

“The Universal Language” tells the story of a scam artist and a stuttering woman who bond as he attempts to trick her into paying to learn the invented language of Unamunda. T. Brandon Evans (COL ’08), who plays the Unamunda-speaking teacher in “Universal Language,” affirmed that he memorized the lines of the strange “language” from the play.

Any Hoya from Philly will appreciate “The Philadelphia,” a play reminiscent of science fiction which tells the story of a man who has fallen into a black hole alternate reality called “a Philadelphia.” He must utilize reverse psychology and order the opposite of what he really wants because, as the play explains, “When you’re in a Philadelphia, when you ask for something, you can’t get it.”

Finally, “Mere Mortals” features three construction workers from New Jersey who believe that they are actually Alexei Romanov, Marie Antoinette and the Lindbergh baby. Director Meghan McCormick (MSB ’11) playfully said, “I think my boys always dreamed of being 1982 construction workers.”

Although it was fun to see the plays come together, the directors said that the production involved hard work and ingenuity. One new director described it as “down-and-dirty” theater, while others agreed and laughed about borrowing food props from O’Donovan Hall. To cope with a tight budget, many actors used clothes that they already owned, and directors purchased some of their own supplies. McCormick said, “From the beginning, we were basically told that we had to do everything ourselves.” Nevertheless, each new director found the process a valuable and rewarding experience.

The actors said that rehearsing the plays was not too difficult, even within the relatively short time period they were given — especially because they do not need to depend entirely on the script. A key element of Ives’ work is its wittiness. Since the actors have little time to dedicate to their lines, they must always remain on their toes.

As a result, “the reactions are a lot more organic,” McCormick said. “The scenes could easily become over-rehearsed [with such a fast-paced script]. It was a balancing act to maintain the air of spontaneity and fun.”

Ultimately, the triumph of “All in the Timing” will not be measurable in economic terms or the ability of the actors to remember their lines on opening night. Instead, Mask and Bauble’s unique approach to their annual workshop production will find its reward in the new talent that they cultivate through this process. And what does the audience get out of this? They will be treated to Ives’ clever and humorous works, with plays that feature the theatrical talents of Georgetown students in every category.