Top 10 Belly Laughs of 2008

1) Barbara Chisholm upending a large potted plant over her head in The Clean House (Zach Theatre) You almost saw me get onstage and dump one over my head, too. I've never seen a temper tantrum look quite that fun.

2) Kim Brackin, UT's women's swim coach, doing the breaststroke as Mother Ginger in The Nutcracker (Ballet Austin)

3) Jose Villarreal's bit as the comic skull in Frankenstein (Trouble Puppet Theater Company)

4) The lineup of lobsters in Aimée Gonzalez's short play "Crushed" in Key Changes (Austin Script Works)

5) Kelli Bland, the cutest hoodlum of all, in The Red Balloon (Tongue and Groove Theatre)

6) Babs George vs. Matthew Radford in Much Ado About Nothing (Austin Shakespeare)

7) Nathan Jerkins' attempts to look unassuming in Art (Penfold Theatre Company and City Theatre Company)

8) Pretty much everybody in Twelfth Night (Scottish Rite Theatre)

9) Andrew Varenhorst's bizarre truck driver in Gorilla Man (the Vestige Group)

10) The Proteans' synchronized duck walk in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Austin Playhouse)