"My people will sleep for 100 years, but when they awaken, it will be the artists who will give them their spirit back” - Louis Riel

Andrea Menard

Defying categorization, Andrea Menard, a Metis actor, singer/songwriter and playwright is a gifted performer who crosses culture and language by speaking from her heart. She learned to perform from the northern lights. On the open prairie, along the river, she sang from her soul. With a voice that brings chills to the surface of your spine and an exciting talent that brings audiences to tears, Andrea Menard is simply gorgeous.

An extremely versatile, powerhouse performer, Andrea dazzles audiences on screen and stage, alone - on a bare stage, singing a cappella, or accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra. Her powerful voice is lyrical, raw, and reminiscent of the jazz and blues singers of the1940's, yet she captures the simplicity of the great folk artists.
Her talent has taken her to film, television and theatre. "Nothing gives me more satisfaction and joy then a great role and a great script", says Andrea. "It's about the craft, the creation, the doing. That's why I love film and stage. It really doesn't matter how large the audience - whether it's a film crew or a theatre audience - acting fires me up."

Andrea can be seen in film and television lead and principal roles including: Moccasin Flats (APTN & Showcase), I Accuse (John Ketchum Productions), Betrayed (Barna-Alper Productions), The Impossible Elephant (Edge Entertainment), Skipped Parts (Trimark Productions), Harold & Katja (Westwind Pictures).

On stage, Andrea is in high demand. Her crowning achievement is her one-woman musical The Velvet Devil, which she co-wrote and continues to perform across Canada. The play generated much excitement and inspired a production at the National Arts Centre, a live broadcast of the play on CBC National Radio, a production for the Saskatchewan Native Theatre and is in film development with Westwind Pictures (Designer Guys).

Plex

A daring emcee, artist and entrepreneur from Edmonton, Alberta, Doug Bedard AKA Plex has taken his experience of growing up on North-side Beverly streets to the masses with a message 15 years in the making about competing to survive adversity and ultimately rising to the top. Living in a duplex through adolescence, people began to refer to him as "Doug from the Duplex" eventually shortening the epithet to Plex. With a distinct ear for music and hunger to be a part of the scene he turned on the drive, resulting in the creation of a career permitting him to groom and reshape artists with similar ambitions ready to compete on a global level.

CEO and President of the Toronto-based record and entertainment label, New Leaf Entertainment. He is one of the founding members of Edmonton's celebrated group Won 18 which is also set to release an album in 2009. Plex released his first solo album “Brainstorm” in April 2009 - a culturally relevant and lyrically proficient album that challenges popular opinion.Plex was the award winning host and producer of “The Plex Show” on Aboriginal Voices Radio in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.

While he is dedicated to his craft and the artists he works with, Plex has not forgotten about his roots. He is committed to his community, especially with youth, as he leads keynote programs and projects with audiences ranging from young artists to industry professionals. These projects include workshop facilitating, consulting, mentoring youth artists, as well as providing professional guidance regarding native content for organizations and experienced industry leaders.

Deserved confidence that the strength and commitment Plex puts into his work validates his personal mandate which is to triumphantly “...bring integrity back into hip-hop”...