Roselyn Kelada-Sedra is an actor, writer & director based in Toronto & St. Catharines, ON. Her favourite roles include Andromache in “After the Trojan Women” and Cleopatra in “Macbeth’s Head.” She excels at creating bold women with intense inner worlds. You can get to know her as a writer or as a legal consultant. Read on to get to know her as an actor for the screen and stage.
Roselyn has worked on stages in Canada, England, the U.S. and Europe. Her first love is Shakespearean theatre, and that led to training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and everything since. Roselyn went on to train at DAH Teatar in Serbia and in Canada on an ongoing basis.
Roselyn plays a magical, vengeance-fueled ninja as a series regular on the podcast, “Arcane Ninja RPG”.
Roselyn learned theatre directing under the leadership of Gary Logan at Carnegie Mellon University. Roselyn’s first time directing film, Women of Resilience, won accolades in Cannes, Reims, Cairo, Toronto, & NYC (2021).
Roselyn has been acting and writing since completing a 3-year apprenticeship as an actor and theatre-maker with Toronto theatre company, b current.
May TRIGGER audience members with descriptions of sexual assault, violence & suicide attempts.
This documentary film features older women (60+) who have gone through wars, displacement, abuse and trauma and have healed through relationship. These women show that we can survive the worst traumas and the most broken systems and thrive if we connect in loving relationships. That is what makes these women resilient.
“People look, wittingly or unwittingly, consciously or not, for signs of life, sparks of hope, ... they want someone to help them feel safe and worthy enough to lean on and into the other’s vitality as they endeavor to make it their own.”
A documentary celebrating resilience in older women. 44 minutes. The thesis is that human beings are designed to heal, and trauma interrupts that design. Secure attachment -a relationship within which someone feels loved, seen and valued- can repair the break and restore the healing design of the human brain and body. Through their stories, these strong, vulnerable women show that broken attachment systems can heal. That is the amazing thing about being human.
My own trauma forced me to re-evaluate the concept of resilience. What I saw was my mother, my godmother, women who went through trauma and came through it with love. Their loving hearts are the keys to their resilience. I offer this film to celebrate women who let love shine through their cracks and show that broken people can heal.
Made in Niagara region, Ontario, with the generous support of the Ontario Arts Council & Essential Collective Theatre.
An Essential Collective Theatre production, with the City of St. Catharines.
Roselyn co-wrote and co-produced a short film, “Amor Fati,” an official selection in the Niagara Falls International Short Festival (Spring 2021, NY) & the Kalakari Film Festival. She also played the lead in “Amor Fati” in which the question is raised: can we change our fates?
Photo by Devon Slack
Check out Roselyn’s DEMO for film & TV, live on YouTube!
Roselyn plays: 1) a strong, troubled mother; 2) a determined law student; 3) a Hispanic woman, protecting her family, 4) a jealous, commanding wife.
Roselyn wrapped season 1 as a series regular in the fantasy-adventure podcast Arcane Ninja RPG.
Audiobook narration in non-fiction
Audiobook narration in fiction
“Women of Resilience”
Trailer for Women of Resilience
Three souls overcome incredible trauma & become inspiring Women of Resilience.
“Women of Resilience” is streaming through Patreon.
Subscribe to the newsletter to be informed when it’s available to stream!
As writer & director of the documentary, Women of Resilience, Roselyn is honored by the Toronto International Women Film Festival’s Best Short Doc Award, as well as the Cannes World Film Festival’s Best Women Film Award, among other accolades. The film celebrates women who have gone through fire and share how they have become resilient. Email assistant@roselyn.ca if you want to license the film for your university or organization.
Roselyn is thrilled to play Andromache in the development process of “After the Trojan Women” by Amena Shehab and Joanna Blundell with Pleiades Theatre. And Roselyn’s just wrapped season 1 as a series regular in the fantasy-adventure podcast Arcane Ninja RPG.
Photo by Eilish Waller
Roselyn’s theatrical highlights have been playing Katherine of Taming of the Shrew fame in a Shakespeare mash-up with Spur of the Moment Shakespeare, and giving Cleopatra a comedic turn in Macbeth’s Head, a comedy by Kyle McDonald with Malfi Productions. Roselyn’s dream roles include Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra, Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well and Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child... obviously.
Roselyn is thrilled to be part of a ground-breaking new Showtime series with an A-list team.
Stay tuned for updates! For her news & thoughts, join the facebook group: Roselyn, Actor & Storyteller.
Roselyn has completed residencies Writers’ Room at Pat the Dog Theatre (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON) & Suitcase in Point. Roselyn is seeking a production parter for Sister Warriors and an international residency.
It is important to me to do what I can to stop the oppression of women, dismantle the patriarcy and the destroy the racial hierarchy. I am not without biases. I am working on it. Click to access my read/watch list about feminism and the oppression of women. Click to access my read/watch list about anti-racist activism and racial oppression. I strive to promote and create equity for women and people of colour in the way that I live, the art that I make and the policies I support.
Jessica Martins
photo @jm_photography32
To access her body of work, visit:
The best way to stay up on art that Roselyn’s making and stories she’s telling is to:
Roselyn writes for stage and screen. Using her background in law, she brings a wide breadth of experience to her works, exploring the human struggle for women of colour.
Roselyn has been nominated for the Cayle Chernin Award as playwright of Sister Warriors.
Also as a playwright, Roselyn has completed residencies with the Writers’ Room at Pat the Dog Theatre (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON) and with Suitcase in Point. Roselyn is seeking an international residency.
Roselyn’s first film, Women of Resilience won nominations & awards at the Cannes World Film Festival, New York International Women Festival, Toronto International Women’s Film Festival (June 2021), Lonelyn Wolf International Festival (2022) & Cairo Indie Shorts Festival. It is also an official selection for the Red Movie Awards (Reims, France) and Kalakari Film Festival (West Bengal, India).
Roselyn co-wrote and co-produced a short film, “Amor Fati,” an official selection in the Niagara Falls International Short Festival (Spring 2021, NY) & the Kalakari Film Festival. She also played the lead in “Amor Fati” in which the question is raised: can we change our fates?
Have a look (below) at her trailers, and stay up to date through “Now&Next” & her quarterly emails.
The women of Roselyn’s work go through crises and become their most resilient selves. Roselyn explores the human condition, particularly for women of colour. What makes a woman strong? brave? compassionate? These explorations drive the stories that Roselyn tells, on stage and screen.
Roselyn began her writing career as a journalist. She wrote columns, feature articles and reviews for newspapers, magazines and web outlets. From there, she did a 3-year apprenticeship as a playwright, theatre-deviser & actor, at b current.
She began writing and adapting plays, and that led to her writing content for the screen. Roselyn starts a project with a driving question about human nature - why do we do what we do? That exploration propels the story. Go to “Now&Next” for details on what Roselyn has in development.
Roselyn is a contributor to many web outlets including the Globe & Mail.
