KPU award, ‘Parallel Project’ book for Surrey creative Argel Monte de Ramos
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2026
June has been a memorable month for Surrey resident Argel Monte de Ramos, proud Filipino-Canadian singer, songwriter, actor, playwright and producer.
A book-launch event celebrated The Parallel Project, a theatre-focused initiative co-founded in 2020 with Jocelyn Tsui, and now Monte de Ramos has been given an Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Graduated from KPU in 2018, Monte de Ramos was honoured during convocation ceremonies Tuesday, June 9.
“KPU is very community-driven, and my time there was full of so many happy and joyful moments,” he says. “Receiving this award feels like such a full-circle moment, and I’m really honoured to be a part of the convocation of new graduates this year, because I know that feeling, and it’s so exciting.”
The univesity’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes those under age 30 who have demonstrated “excellence professionally or through community service and have been involved with KPU or alumni activities since graduation.”
Meantime, The Parallel Project book, co-edited by Monte de Ramos and Tsui, was published by Playwrights’ Canada Press with 22 monologues by and for IBPOC (Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour) and racialized artists.
The book, sold for $24.95 on playwrightscanada.com and launched June 8 at BMO Theatre Centre in Vancouver, is the culmination of five years of monologue writing workshops produced by Momentum 180 in partnership with Playwrights Theatre Centre and The Cultch, to address systemic gaps in theatre training and representation.
After graduating from KPU, Monte de Ramos pursued a Bachelor of Performing Arts at Capilano University and now works with Arts Umbrella, a not-for-profit arts education centre.
“When I was a theatre student, I found there weren’t a lot of monologues available for someone who looked like me,” he says. “This collection (The Parallel Project) is meant to fill that gap, and serve as a resource for students who are looking for something that parallels their own lived experience.”
A Surrey resident since 2012, Monte de Ramos was a top-10 finalist in CBC Music’s Searchlight talent contest in 2021, among other awards and accolades in recent years.