By James Hartley

The Harvester Theatre Company brought home awards from the Texas Community College Speech and Theater Association State Festival.
Morgan Solorzano, Charles Ratcliff, Kayla Anderson and Brianna Lewis impressed the judges in their rendition F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”
Brianna Lewis, who was originally a costume designer, was brought in to play Myrtle Wilson one week before the competition and won an award for her performance.
“When we went to the competition play, that was the first time for me walking out on stage without a script in my hand,” Lewis said.
Most of the cast said they enjoyed working on the production.
“Acting is a passion that I have and no matter what show I’m working on,” Solorzano said.
However, it was a “nightmare” getting the show ready for competition, Solorzano said, with every day bringing a new challenge. Solorzano emphasized the role of the technical abilities of the crew, which included the cast and crew members.
They “are a very talented group of people,” he said.
The cast and crew grew close over the course of the production.
“It was like hanging out with your friends every day,” said Anderson, who played Daisy Buchanan.
Due to complications involving winter weather, their first performance in front of an audience was at the contest.
“Ten minutes before the show, a switch just flipped in all of us,” Anderson said.
The production’s awards included Superior Award for Acting and another for Costume Design for Lewis; Excellence for Acting for Monica Lira; Excellence in Scene Design and a Superior in Scene Design for Anderson; Excellence in Acting for Ratcliff; and Superior in Lighting Design for Jarvin Lockett; Excellence in Sound Design for Adam Wright; and an Excellence in Makeup Design for Stephanie Carroll.