In a society usually looking forward to the next big thing, we can forget the importance of respecting and learning from the past.

To create the play “As Straw Before the Wind,” Felix Racelis not only studied history, he embraced it, and in doing so has given Filipino-Americans a new voice.

“In a way, this is a tribute to my ancestors, the generation that moved here from the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. and their struggles and accomplishments,” Racelis said. “All these years I’ve watched television and I would watch hospital series like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ or ‘General Hospital’ and you would see the nurses that they have — I don’t think I’ve ever once seen a Filipino nurse on TV. That’s another part of my frustration, seeing that Hollywood doesn’t really reflect reality.”

“As Straw Before the Wind” tells the story of Nene Santos, a Filipina nurse and owner/operator of a San Gabriel Valley convalescent home. As she works to expand her business, which she plans to leave to her daughter, she recalls pivotal moments in her life, including a harrowing experience during World War II that led to a family secret.

The play premieres at the Ruby Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday and runs until Sept. 4. It is directed by Lesley Asistio and stars Tita Pambid, Muni Zano. Sarnica Lim, Anita Borcia, Rochelle Lozano, Doan Nguyen and Gabriel Garcia.

A personal story

“It’s really a very personal story for me,” Racelis said. “The main character is a composite of a number of women I knew growing up.”

The Silver Lake playwright and screenwriter recalls his piano teacher, a strong-willed Filipina with a side business of buying houses and turning them into convalescent homes. Many of the women in his family were nurses, including his mother.

When Racelis was still young, one of his friends’ mothers shared her tale of living through World War II in the Philippines.

“I remember her breaking down in tears recounting to us the day that the Japanese took over their property and they lined the children up on the bow of a ship, and they forced the children to watch as they killed their parents and threw them into the river,” Racelis said.

The story haunted Racelis throughout his life and he believes that he “needed to get it out,” and “Straw” became the vehicle.

“There is a setting with really rich characters, and it doesn’t seem to be a lot happening, but there really is underneath the surface,” Racelis said. “There is actual conflict happening in this play, too.”

Tita Pambid plays Nene Santos. Growing up in the Philippines, she discovered her love for acting while in high school and forged a successful career after college.

In 1995, Pambid immigrated to the United States, settling in historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. It was hard to get into acting, so to make ends meet she fell back on her doctorate in Filipino studies and began teaching Filipino language and culture at Loyola Marymount University, Cal State Long Beach and UCLA.

Pambid identifies with her character as a mother and her struggles as a Filipino in the United States. Nene has inner conflicts, as well as ones with her daughter, patients under her care and her finances.

“It’s a very complex character because she underwent a very traumatic experience, and I had to find something that would match that horrific experience that she had, and she has this outer shell that is very strong, but inside she’s actually soft,” Pambid said.

“I want the audience to see Filipinos in a different light. We’re known for being caregivers in the United States, not only in the United States, but throughout the whole world. But there’s heroism in it and there’s this really honest feeling of caring for the patients we take care of. We have served this country and we ought to be recognized.”

Obstacles for Filipinos

Pambid acknowledges that the obstacles for Filipinos are not unlike those of other ethnicities, especially in the entertainment industry. She said despite positive changes, such as actors playing characters of their own race, as opposed to a Caucasian portraying an Asian, for example, it is still difficult to get cast.

“I just wish there would be more plays that are diverse coming from the different ethnicities, not just from Filipinos, so we could really celebrate the different cultures that we have in Los Angeles, in California, and that we would have more different ethnicities represented in the media,” Pambid said.

If you go:

When: 8 p.m. starting Aug. 13 and continuing Friday and Saturday through Sept. 4.

Where: Ruby Theatre at The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.

Tickets: $20 adults and $12 seniors and students.

Information: 800-838-3006, www.strawbeforewind.com.