Constantin Tănase

Constantin Tănase (Romanian pronunciation: [konstanˈtin təˈnase]; July 5, 1880 – August 29, 1945) was a Romanian actor and writer for stage, a key figure in the revue style of theater in Romania.

Born into a working-class family living in a peasant house in Vaslui, Romania. An adequate but unexceptional student (although he did apparently learn good German), his first exposure to the stage was by attending plays at "Pârjoala" garden, where he saw popular theater, including actors such as Zaharia Burienescu and I.D. Ionescu. This inspired him to start an amateur theater group among his friends; they worked up scenes from the plays Meşterul Manole, Căpitanul Valter Mărăcineanu and Constantin Brâncoveanu; their closest thing to a stage was a barn.

His first professional experience as an actor was in the Yiddish-language theater troupe of Mordechai Segalescu: they were short an actor for a performance in Vaslui and drafted the youthful Tănase. In 1896 he completed gymnasium. Despite his wish to become an actor, at his parents behest he enrolled in the Military School at Iaşi, but his rebellious behavior there quickly got him booted out. He headed to Brăila, where he briefly attended the "Nicolae Bălcescu" High School, but after a few weeks he dropped out due to lack of funds.

In Brăila he met the schoolteacher and writer Ion Adam, who suggested that the 18-year-old Tănase take over his teaching post in Curseşti, Rahova, since Adam was headed to take some courses in Belgium. He didn't do badly at the job, but hit it off badly with the headmaster and some of the other teachers. With Adam's support, he got another teaching job at Hârşoveni, Poeneşti, where poet Alexandru Vlahuţă also taught. Tănase promptly developed his own style of teaching, bringing music and gymnastics to a central role, which drew new students to the school. He also involved his students' parents through field trips which he used to teach history and geography. He soon became a generally beloved local figure, but apparently the local notary and certain lawyers disapproved of him and his methods and managed to have him fired.

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