Janelle Cooper was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She works in Calgary, Alberta as an Actor, Director and Writer. She is a specialist in Performance Creation, with a passion for exploring the Black experience and African oral traditions through her original work. She is also the Artistic Director of Ellipsis Tree Collective - an Afrocentric performance society dedicated to the professional development and production of creative work by visible minority artists. The only organization of it's kind to exist in Alberta.