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Retired alum enjoys new career in the arts Daniel Bavolack ’51 has followed his curiosity and turned a lifelong love of the arts into something of an additional career in his retirement. He has appeared in numerous theater, television, and musical productions and bills himself as an “elder actor who sings and moves.” Others have expanded that to “a charming, intelligent, and creative elder actor who sings and moves.” His newest phase in life has come after positions with the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, N.Y., and as a freelance technical writer and editor based first in Rochester then in Manhattan, with clients both here and abroad. Bavolack began his career with Kodak after graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, having added applied science courses that prepared him for a career in technical corporate and marketing communications. During his time with Kodak, he worked as an educational systems designer, audiovisual writer-producer, and technical writer/editor. “It was great to have worked with Kodak. There were top-notch editors and photographers around me to learn from. When I was an audiovisual writer-producer, I got to work on Kodak World’s Fair and other exhibits and with major creative talent, including Alan Anderson of the
J. Walter Thompson Ad Agency. Alan had produced the prizewinning ‘Turnaround’ TV commercial for Kodak, which was created from a lifetime of photos, featuring a mother with her baby, the girl growing up to a young woman, until she had a baby of her own,” he said. “That was so beautiful, and I felt so comfortable with Alan’s level of creativity. It was truly a highlight to have worked with Alan, which made me realize that there was another world that I wanted to explore, and perhaps join,” Bavolack said. After 18 years with Kodak at a time when nearly all employees stayed for more than 40 years until retirement, he left. His experience with Kodak was just what he needed to transition into a career as a freelance technical writer, working on a variety of projects first around Rochester, and then in New York. “When information technology came along, I was ready. There were only a few of us who had any idea of what to do in front of those boxes – computers – and who were able to write about them in plain language as well,” he said. Building on his background as a technical writer and educational systems designer, Bavolack wrote manuals and other materials for several kinds of organizations, which were adding computerized systems, one right after another. Those organizations included Lifetime Television, Chase, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Mount Sinai Medical School, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs. But there was that other world calling him. During his years as a freelance writer in New York, he also performed with not-for profit theaters and opera companies, wrote plays, and learned method acting. After he retired from freelancing, Bavolack became further occupied with New York theater groups and used his corporate writing experience to write grant applications and become involved in other volunteer activities to which his skills were suited. He also started going to senior centers, including one at Greenwich House, a settlement house established in 1902, where educated women and a few celebrities – such as Amelia Earhart, Bette Davis, and Eleanor Roosevelt – had come and volunteered their services.
Daniel Bavolack ’51 speaks with filmmaker Olga Klyachina after a showing of her film, “When People Die They Sing Songs.”
One week, the music appreciation class at Greenwich House featured modern dancer Megan Sipe. She asked if anyone in the class had ever done modern dance, and Bavolack, who had performed modern dance in Rochester in the 1970s, raised his hand. This was one of the places in New York, where he could say with a smile, he was “discovered.” Continued on page 5
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