Erika Kaljusaar (born 26 March 1956) is an Estonian stage, film, and television actress, theatre producer, and stage manager whose career began on stage in 1979. She is a founder of the Open Stage Association of Freelance Actors, and a founding member and leader of the Loomine traditional theatre since 2004. Kaljusaar has also worked as a project manager for the

Padise Abbey Padise Abbey ( et, Padise klooster) was a former Cistercian monastery in Padise in Harju County, Estonia, settled in 1310 by the dispossessed monks of Dünamünde Abbey in Latvia. It was converted into a fortress after its dissolution in 1 ...

museum since 2007, and since 2013, as a contributor to the newspaper ''Padise Teataja''.

Early life and education

Erika Kaljusaar was born in Tallinn. Her parents were laborers. During her youth, she lived in Keila and graduated from Keila I secondary school in 1974. Afterward, she studied drama at the Vanemuine training studio in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

Career

Theatre

In 1979, Kaljusaar began a five-year engagement as an actress at the Rakvere Theatre in

Rakvere Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the administrative centre of the Lääne-Viru ''maakond'' (county), 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. Rakvere is the 8th most populous urban area in Estonia. Rakvere has a tota ...

. In 1986, she joined the Vanemuine theatre in Tartu, leaving in 1988. Notable stage roles been in works by such playwrights and authors as: Jüri Tuulik, Albert Uustulnd, Kalju Saaber,

Mait Metsanurk Mait Metsanurk (born Eduard Hubel, 19 November 1879 – 21 August 1957) was an Estonian writer who led the neo-realist school of Estonian literature. Early years Mait Metsanurk was born as the youngest of eight children in a peasant family in ...

, Jaan Kross, Stanislav Stratiev, Carlo Goldoni,

A. H. Tammsaare Anton Hansen (18 (O.S.)/30 January 1878 – 1 March 1940), better known by his pseudonym A. H. Tammsaare and its variants, was an Estonian writer whose pentalogy '' Truth and Justice'' (''Tõde ja õigus''; 1926–1933) is considered one of ...

, Georges Feydeau, Jaan Kruusvall,

Oldřich Daněk Oldřich Daněk (January 16, 1927 – September 3, 2000) was a Czech dramatist, writer, director and screenwriter. After graduating from high school in Ostrava, he studied at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ...

, and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

. In 1997, she was a founder of the Open Stage Association of Freelance Actors. Between 1999 and 2004, she worked as a stage manager at the Old Town Studio theatre in Tallinn. She is a founding member and leader of the Tallinn-based Loomine traditional theatre since 2004.

Film and television

Erika Kaljusaar made her television debut with the role of Ethel in the 1986

Ago-Endrik Kerge Ago-Endrik Kerge (also Endrik Kerge; 8 April 1939 Tallinn – 25 April 2021) was an Estonian dancer, ballet master, director and actor. In 1959 he graduated from Tallinn Choreographic School. In 1976 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory S ...

-directed Eesti Telefilm drama ''Võtmeküsimus''. This was followed by the role of Juta in the 1988 two-part television historical drama ''Narva kosk'', again directed by Kerge and penned by

Vladimir Beekman Vladimir Beekman (23 August 1929 – 3 October 2009) was an Estonian writer, poet and translator. Early life and education After completing his primary education, he attended the Tallinn University of Technology and graduated in 1953 with a degre ...

and Enn Vetemaa. The same year, she appeared in the Mikk Mikiver directed television drama ''Doktor Stockmann'' for Tallinnfilm. She has also appeared in several television series, including roles on the 1998

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

drama ''Kired'', the Eesti Televisioon (ETV) crime drama ''Ohtlik lend'' in 2006, the long-running ETV drama '' Õnne 13'' in 2007, the Kanal 2 crime series ''Kelgukoerad'' in 2009, and several roles on the TV3 comedy-crime series ''Kättemaksukontor'' between 2009 and 2010. Kaljusaar's first film role was as Mari in the 1989 Kaljo Kiisk-directed Tallinnfilm drama ''Regina'', based on the 1978 novel ''Valikuvõimalus'' by Estonian author

Aimée Beekman Aimée Beekman ( Malla; born 20 April 1933) is an Estonian writer noted in her country for several books said to present realistic depictions of modern life. Amongst her works is ''Valikuvõimalus'' or ''An Opportunity for Choice'', which involves ...

. In 1992, she appeared in the Peeter Urbla-directed thriller ''Daam autos'', based on the 1968 novel '' The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun'' by French author

Sébastien Japrisot Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke dow ...

Later career

Since 2007, she has worked as a project manager for the

museum in Lääne-Harju Parish, and has been a regular contributor to the civil initiative newspaper ''Padise Teataja''.

Personal life

Erika Kaljusaar has been in a long-term relationship with actor Väino Laes since 1980. The couple reside in the village of

Padise Padise is a village in Lääne-Harju Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia. (retrieved 27 July 2021) Padise is the birthplace of Estonian poet and author Arved Viirlaid (1922–2015). Gallery File:Padise Klooster.jpg, Padise Abbey Pa ...

in Harju County, with a summer home and small farm on the island of Saaremaa.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaljusaar, Erika 1956 births Living people Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian television actresses Actresses from Tallinn 20th-century Estonian actresses 21st-century Estonian actresses