Saskia Post (1 August 1960 – 16 March 2020) was a US-born Australian actress.[1] She is best known for her leading role in the 1986 film Dogs in Space.[1] Post also acted in the 1985 film Bliss and the 1991 film Proof,[2] as well as numerous Australian television series.

Saskia Post
Born
Saskia Steenkamer

(1960-08-01)1 August 1960
Died16 March 2020(2020-03-16) (aged 59)
Melbourne, Australia
NationalityAustralian
OccupationActress
Years active1982–2020

Early life

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Saskia Post was born in Martinez, California, in 1961. Her Dutch parents moved between America and Japan, before settling in Australia in 1975.[2] At high school she studied acting and singing and after completing high school she spent a year attending acting workshops and dance classes in Sydney. She studied writing at RMIT. She then commenced a degree course in drama and arts at the University of New South Wales but gave it up after 12 months to attend a full-time course at The Drama Studio in Sydney in 1981.

Career

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Shortly after completing her studies, Post obtained her first television role as Julianna Sleven, a Dutch refugee, in The Sullivans,[3] an Australian drama television series about an average middle-class Melbourne family and the effect World War II had on their lives.[4] Post moved to Melbourne and worked on the series for 12 months before leaving in 1984 to take part in the John Duigan film One Night Stand,[3] in which she played Eva, a Czech-born bank teller.[5]

In 1985, Post appeared in the AFI Award winning film Bliss as Honey Barbara's daughter.[3] This was followed in 1986 with a feature role in the Richard Lowenstein film Dogs in Space,[3] a story about a group of young musicians and music fans sharing a house in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. In the film, Post played the role of Anna, the girlfriend of Sam (Michael Hutchence).[6][7]

Post also appeared in numerous stage productions in Melbourne and Sydney, including Hating Alison Ashley, Salome, Endgrain, Train to Transcience, Could I Have this Dance?, In Angel Gear, Figures in Glass, Skin and Vincent in Brixton.[8]

Personal life and death

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Post lived her final years in Trentham, Victoria, where she worked as a transpersonal art therapist and worked at a local primary school as an integration aide.[9]

Post died following a cardiac arrest from complications stemming from a congenital heart condition, at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne on 16 March 2020. She was 59.[10]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1984 One Night Stand Eva Feature film
1985 Bliss Harry's Daughter Feature film
1986 Dogs in Space Anna Feature film
1991 Proof Waitress Feature film
1997 True Love and Chaos Sam Feature film
2009 We're Living On Dog Food Herself Film documentary
2017 Throbbin' 84 Doreen Film (final role)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1982 The Sullivans Julianna Sleven TV series
1982–1983 Sons and Daughters Kerry Mitchell TV series, 15 episodes
1985 A Country Practice Michelle Longet TV series, 2 episodes
1986 Return to Eden Jessica Stewart TV series, 11 episodes
1987 A Country Practice Pammie Allen TV series, 2 episodes
1991 All Together Now Susan TV series, episode: "Stuck on You"
1996 Ocean Girl Hypnotherapist TV series, 1 episode
2000 Introducing Gary Petty Emily TV series, 6 episodes
Eugénie Sandler P.I. Angela Duvier TV series, 11 episodes
2002 Short Cuts Louise TV series
2010 City Homicide Gloria Beck TV series, 1 episode

Stage

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Year Title Role Venue / Co.
1989 Salome Salome Crossroads Theatre, Sydney
1990 In Angel Gear Karin St Martins Youth Arts Centre, Melbourne
1990 Advice from a Caterpillar La Mama, Melbourne, Universal Theatre, Melbourne
1990 Figures in Glass Irene Mitchell Studio, Melbourne
1993 Train to Transience: All Aboard / Dead Ahead / In Transit / Feast Irene Mitchell Studio, Melbourne
1993 Could I Have This Dance? Melbourne Athenaeum
1995 Skin Top of the Town, Melbourne
1996 Endgrain Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne
2003; 2004 A Night of Grand Guignol (Laboratory of Hallucinations; Three Skeleton Key; Tics, or Doing the Deed) Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne, Colac Otways Performing Arts and Cultural Centre, Karralyka Centre, Upper Yarra Arts and Entertainment Centre, Harrison Theatre, Swan Hill, Knox Community Arts Centre, Bayswater, Ruffy Public Hall with La Mama
2005 Vincent in Brixton Ursula Loyer Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Melbourne
2008 Sushi Wushi Woo Australian Centre of Performing Arts, Melbourne
Hating Alison Ashley

[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Benedictus, Luke (23 October 2005). "The lost Post". The Age. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  2. ^ a b O'Brien, Kerrie (19 March 2020). "'She really lit up the screen': Dogs In Space actor Saskia Post dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Caputo, Juan (July 2009). "Interview with Richard Lowenstein". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  4. ^ Morris, Jill (18 February 1982). "Sullivans import problem solvers". The Age. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Charles P. (2001). A Guide to Apocalyptic Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 175. ISBN 9780313315275.
  6. ^ "INXS' Hutchence in Screen Debut". The Canberra Times. 27 November 1986. p. 4 Supplement: The Good Times. Retrieved 29 April 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "The Aussie Film Database Dogs in Space". Australian Cinema Unit at Murdoch University. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  8. ^ Cluff, Caleb (18 March 2020). "'A great actor and a great human: Saskia Post remembered". The Courier. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Phoenix Prospectus Bachelor Degree and Vocational Education (VET)" (PDF). Phoenix Institute of Australia. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  10. ^ "'Dogs In Space' Star Passes Away". The Music. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/4611
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