Andrea Menard
Encyclopedia
Andrea Menard is a Canadian actress, playwright, and jazz
singer, born in 1971 in Flin Flon
, Manitoba
and based in Saskatchewan
.
descent, is best known for her work on the television series Moccasin Flats
(2003) (in which she played a Police Officer with the Regina Police Service
in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan
) and for her starring role as Constable Tara Wheaton in the television series Rabbit Fall
(2007–2008). She is currently the voice of characters Sarah Merasty and Kohkum on the APTN
stop motion animated program Wapos Bay: The Series
(2005–Present).
An accomplished jazz singer, Menard wrote and composed a one-woman, musical one act play
entitled The Velvet Devil which opened to rave reviews in 1998. A soundtrack album featuring 18 songs was released in 2002 and the CBC
made a film based upon the play which aired in Canada in April 2006. In 2005, Menard was featured on the compilation album, Real Divas - Torch Light Vol. II along with 15 other Canadian jazz vocalists. Menard's music has been used in a number of TV shows internationally, most notably her tongue-in-cheek ode to gender politics, "If I Were a Man", which was featured on an episode of the series Queer as Folk
.
In May 2005, Menard was one of the headliners of a special command performance
for Queen Elizabeth II
to mark the 100th anniversary of Saskatchewan becoming a province of Canada.
Menard's second CD, Simple Steps, was released on December 3, 2005. In the fall of 2005, she could also be seen in television advertisements for SaskTel
's Internet service.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, born in 1971 in Flin Flon
Flin Flon
Flin Flon is a Canadian mining city located on the border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within Manitoba.- Founding :...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and based in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
Career
Menard, who is of MétisMétis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
descent, is best known for her work on the television series Moccasin Flats
Moccasin Flats
Moccasin Flats is a Canadian drama series that ran for three full seasons. This series, which has been aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Showcase Television since 2004, is a co-produced by Big Soul Productions Inc. and Stephan Onda Productions inc....
(2003) (in which she played a Police Officer with the Regina Police Service
Regina Police Service
Regina Police Service, formed in 1892, is the municipal police force for the City of Regina, Saskatchewan.During the late 1890s, Regina was capital of the Northwest Territories, though not more than a collection of frame buildings and tents...
in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
) and for her starring role as Constable Tara Wheaton in the television series Rabbit Fall
Rabbit Fall
Rabbit Fall is a Canadian television supernatural drama series, which airs on Space, APTN and Saskatchewan Communications Network.The series stars Andrea Menard as Tara Wheaton, a police officer of Métis descent who takes a job in Rabbit Fall, a remote town in northern Saskatchewan with a history...
(2007–2008). She is currently the voice of characters Sarah Merasty and Kohkum on the APTN
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian broadcast and cable television network. APTN airs and produces programs made by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples...
stop motion animated program Wapos Bay: The Series
Wapos Bay: The Series
Wapos Bay: The Series is a stop motion animated family television series that follows the adventures of three children, T-Bear, Talon and Raven, as they explore their remote community in northern Saskatchewan...
(2005–Present).
An accomplished jazz singer, Menard wrote and composed a one-woman, musical one act play
One act play
A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years the 10-minute play known as "flash drama" has emerged as a popular sub-genre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions...
entitled The Velvet Devil which opened to rave reviews in 1998. A soundtrack album featuring 18 songs was released in 2002 and the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
made a film based upon the play which aired in Canada in April 2006. In 2005, Menard was featured on the compilation album, Real Divas - Torch Light Vol. II along with 15 other Canadian jazz vocalists. Menard's music has been used in a number of TV shows internationally, most notably her tongue-in-cheek ode to gender politics, "If I Were a Man", which was featured on an episode of the series Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk (US TV series)
Queer as Folk is an American and Canadian television series co-production, produced by Showtime and Temple Street Productions, which was based on the British series of the same name, created by Russell T Davies...
.
In May 2005, Menard was one of the headliners of a special command performance
Command Performance
Command Performance is a radio program which originally aired between 1942 and 1949. The program was broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network with a direct shortwave transmission to the troops overseas. It was not broadcast over domestic U.S...
for Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
to mark the 100th anniversary of Saskatchewan becoming a province of Canada.
Menard's second CD, Simple Steps, was released on December 3, 2005. In the fall of 2005, she could also be seen in television advertisements for SaskTel
SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications is a provincial Crown Corporation operating under the authority of the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Act. It is the only remaining Crown Corporation in the Canadian telecommunications industry....
's Internet service.
Filmography
- Skipped PartsSkipped PartsSkipped Parts , is a movie based on Tim Sandlin's book of the same name. Skipped Parts is the first in a series of novels based on the lives of Maury and Sam, the second and final being Sorrow Floats and Social Blunders. The film is about a group of characters living in a small Wyoming town...
(2000) Dot - The Impossible Elephant (2001) Miss Parker
- Betrayed (2003) Liane
- The Pedestrian (2003) Laura
- I AccuseI AccuseI Accuse is a 2003 drama film directed by John Ketcham. It is based on the case of Dr. John Schneeberger, a Canadian doctor convicted of using drugs to rape two patients.-Characters:*Estella Warren as Kimberly Jansen*John Hannah as Dr...
(2003) Heather - Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas StoryPrairie GiantPrairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story is a CBC Television miniseries first aired in two consecutive parts on March 12 and March 13, 2006. It dramatizes and fictionalizes the life and career of Tommy Douglas, the Canadian politician who oversaw the legislation of Canada's first public healthcare...
(2006) Lead Reporter - Rabbit Fall (TV movie) (2006) Tara
- Moccasin FlatsMoccasin FlatsMoccasin Flats is a Canadian drama series that ran for three full seasons. This series, which has been aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Showcase Television since 2004, is a co-produced by Big Soul Productions Inc. and Stephan Onda Productions inc....
(2003–2006) Detective Amanda Strongeagle (22 Episodes) - The Velvet Devil (TV movie) (2006) Velvet Laurent
- Redemption SK (TV miniseries) (2007) Riley
- Juliana and the Medicine Fish (short) (2007) Maggie Saunders
- Renegadepress.com (2004–2008) Joanne (3 Episodes)
- Rabbit FallRabbit FallRabbit Fall is a Canadian television supernatural drama series, which airs on Space, APTN and Saskatchewan Communications Network.The series stars Andrea Menard as Tara Wheaton, a police officer of Métis descent who takes a job in Rabbit Fall, a remote town in northern Saskatchewan with a history...
(2007–2008) Officer Tara Wheaton (Main role) - Little Mosque on the PrairieLittle Mosque on the PrairieLittle Mosque on the Prairie is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz and produced by WestWind Pictures. It is filmed in Toronto, Ontario and Indian Head, Saskatchewan...
(2009) Helen (1 Episode) - A Windigo Tail (2010) Lili (1 Episode)
- In Redemption (2010) Ryley
- Wapos Bay: The SeriesWapos Bay: The SeriesWapos Bay: The Series is a stop motion animated family television series that follows the adventures of three children, T-Bear, Talon and Raven, as they explore their remote community in northern Saskatchewan...
(2005–2010) Sarah/Kohkum/Woman of the Woods (voice roles) (27 Episodes) - Sparkle (TV movie) (2010)
- BlackstoneBlackstone (TV series)Blackstone is a Canadian television series, which airs on APTN and Showcase. Written, created, directed and produced by Canadian producer Ron E. Scott, the series began filming its eight episodes, plus a pilot, in 2010 in and around Edmonton, Alberta....
(2011) Debbie Fraser (8 Episodes)