The FAYTS - The Filipino American Young Turks, my full length play inspired by Bob Santo's political campaign for State Senate in the early '70s is set for publication in a few weeks. The play will be published by CreateSpace and is in final edits. The following is a synopsis of the play. I recently placed 8th in the 82nd National Play Script Competition held by Writers Digest.
The FAYTs (Filipino American
Young Turks)
by
Robert Francis Flor
PLAY SYNOPSIS
The FAYTS traces the ambitions of a group of young,
Seattle-area Filipinos during the
early seventies who seek to empower and raise the stature
of Filipinos through the
political process.
When a State Senate seat opens in their progressive district, Ben
Adama, the protagonist, declares his interest.
A community activist, Ben has surrounded himself with a
group of loyal friends, known
as the Filipino American Young Turks (The FAYTS). His skeptical, reluctant, but
otherwise supportive wife, Ava, agrees to take manage the family while he pursues his
political dream.
Ben and his friends lack the financial capability for a
campaign. Sensing an opportunity,
Sitan Helel, a powerful conservative Senator, sends forth
Aswang Iblis, another Senator
and friend to
the FAYTs to recruit Ben.
Through Aswang, Helel offers Ben and
substantial financial support and consultants. Mara
Hukluban, a beautiful, intelligent,
young woman and daughter of Sitan is assigned as
consultant. But, she and others
are not
as they appear.
The FAYTs was inspired by an actual political
campaign. It explores questions of
good
and evil, loyalty and the price of ambition though the
use of mythology and folklore,
primarily Filipino in genesis. Characters morph between real and mythic worlds in this
play that pits personal ambition and power against ideals
and family.
