 He received his first role as a mute character in the comedic play ""Musca spaniolă"" ("The Spanish Fly") by Arnold and Bach.He was hired at the National Theater in Cernăuţi, and his next appearance was in Victor Ion Popa's ""Amanetul"" (The Pawn Shop) by Holberg.Birlic, who struggled with a lisp, failed to get into the Dramatic Art Conservatory of Cernăuţi seven times before succeeding the eighth.