AS STRAW BEFORE THE WIND

From August 13, 2016 through September 4, 2016, a new play by Felix Racelis, As Straw Before the Wind, received 11 performances, played to houses that were more than 80% full. and to an audience that was nearly half Filipino.
Directed by Lesley Asistio and set in 1993, the play explored the life of Filipina nurse and convalescent home owner Nene Santos who survived the trauma of World War II only to discover her war is not yet over. Sponsors included the FilAm Arts, United Bakery and the Oriental Medical Center.
As Straw Before the Wind featured many talented Filipino actors including Tita Pambid, Muni Zano, Sarnica Lim and Rochelle Lozano, and other talented performers such as veteran Anita Borcia and newscomers Doan Nguyen and Gabriel Garcia. Stage Manager/Lighting Designer was Jim Niedzialkowski and Assistant Stage Manager was Alejandro Chavez. A pre-show photo montage was created by Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez.
The play received widespread attention in the Los Angeles Filipino and Asian press and also in the mainstream press, and the author, director and several cast members were interviewed for Kababayan Today, the popular local Filipino entertainment news program produced and hosted by G. Tongi. The Los Angeles Newspaper Group ran an advance feature on the production featuring interviews with Racelis and Pambid.