About the Artist
Argel MDR is a Filipino-Canadian singer/songwriter, actor, and an emerging playwright-producer based in Surrey on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish people, specifically the Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations. He is a graduate of Capilano University’s Musical Theatre program and the Bachelor of Performing Arts program (Valedictorian). Argel has been an active member of the Metro Vancouver theatre community and has been a part of a few productions such as Theatre Under The Stars’ MAMMA MIA! (Eddie), Fighting Chance Production’s Guys and Dolls (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), and Fabulist Theatre’s All Together Now.
Argel co-founded the Momentum 180 Collective and created The Parallel Project. This workshop program aims to create a collection of extended original monologues written by emerging IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour) writers and performed by emerging IBPOC actors.
Argel is an advocate of anti-racism work and inclusion. He wants to use the power of storytelling to inspire youth through his music, theatrical performances, and administrative work. He firmly believes that the arts create significant impacts on the youth’s lives.
Projects
All The Latest
BCAC Early Career Development Grant
2023 Recipient
Argel recently received a BCAC Early Career Development Grant from BC Arts Council to develop his skills in writing and producing a new musical. Together with his main mentor, Davey Calderon, Argel will be working with Filipinx-Canadian artists and other artists to mentor him into producing his own musicals in the future. This grant bridges the gap between his training at Capilano University and his hopes of producing and writing musicals that centre the Filipinx-Canadian Experience.
IGNITE FESTIVAL 2023
IGNITE! is an eclectic festival, programmed and curated entirely by members of the Youth Panel at the Cultch. It features theatre performers, filmmakers, writers, poets, dancers, musicians, visual artists, drag performers and more — all aged 13-30 — as well as participants from the Cultch’s Youth Program Mentorship Programs. Celebrating its 21st Anniversary, the festival also includes the production of three One Act Plays by local emerging playwrights and a Visual Arts exhibition. Each of the main festival nights offer a diverse spread of performances in a variety-show style under a theme; from Daybreak and Golden Hour to Solar Flair, this year IGNITE! is rising up and celebrating the sunny days ahead! Performances this year include short plays, monologues, poetry, live music, traditional dance and voguing, a short films program, and a lineup of three phenomenal drag performers.
Argel will be directing Maheem Bista's SQUEAKEASY.
The Strange Dreams of Kane Who
by: Joy Gong
The Strange Dreams of Kane Who
Argel will be producing a two-week development workshop for playwright Joy Gong's The Strange Dreams of Kane Who.
Past Projects
Meet the 2021-22 ECD Cohort!
PTC is thrilled to announce our 2022 ECD cohort of playwright-producers: Emmet Hanley, Argel Monte de Ramos, and Alexander Zonjic. From now through the summer they will be assisting on our Unscripted and PTC Platforms work, while training to meet the increasing sectoral demand for producers who understand developing new work. With external mentor June Fukumura, dramaturg Joanna Garfinkel, and guest mentors, they will cultivate their own practices while steeped in PTC’s anti-oppression, artist-first methodology for process design. This program is made possible by the BC Arts Council Early Career Development grant.
Seussical The Musical
Argel will be playing Horton the Elephant at Align Entertainment's Seussical The Musical playing at Michael J Fox from January 27 to February 11, 2023.
Seussical is a musical comedy by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many children's stories of Dr. Seuss, with most of its plot being based on Horton Hears a Who!, Gertrude McFuzz, and Horton Hatches the Egg while incorporating many other stories.
The Parallel Project at Evergreen
The Parallel Project was born out of a desire to increase the accessibility of monologues written by and for Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC) artists. Since the project’s inception in July 2020, eleven monologues have been written by seven artists, undergone professional dramaturgy, and filmed for future distribution.
From topics ranging from difficult conversations with friends, to navigating the pandemic, to discovering and embracing family and culture, this performance weaves together six of those monologues and offers a chance for six individual voices to be heard and celebrated.