Four years of far-flung freelancing after graduation, Kaydin landed back home in rural Maryland with as much time spent working as a full time artist as he had spent at UMBC. His resume was strange and varied. From sound designing Shakespeare on California cliffs, to writing music while bartering with goat farmers, Kaydin’s dedication to the craft he learned at UMBC was a constant undercurrent to his artistic endeavors. Professor Adam Mendelson's words constantly echoed in Kaydin’s head: “follow your signal path,” a platitude of troubleshooting advice for audio engineers that doubles as a mantra. One must “follow your signal path” within.
Kaydin’s work came to a halt when multiple health concerns coalesced and asked him to come home and recover, his “signal path” rerouted. Physical therapy would need to be tended to every day for at least a year, which coincided with the choice to base himself in Frederick in both his career and personal life. The Maryland Ensemble Theatre had been an artistic home to Kaydin since early days of his freelance career, and the Weinberg Center for the Arts was hiring stage technicians to work shows at both the Weinberg and New Spire Arts. These three theatres occupy a single block of Patrick street in the heart of Downtown Frederick. Kaydin’s integration into the Frederick’s arts and entertainment district has proven mutually beneficial.“I fulfill an important niche of the artistic ecosystem here, and I’m really proud to say that what I learned at UMBC informs my artistic and technical work every day. I can fall back on my instincts knowing that they are coming from my education and I can trust them,” Kaydin says about his work downtown.
Kaydin Hamby is company member at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre. Past MET credits include Sense and Sensibility, The Three Swingin’ Little Pigs, Angels in America Parts 1 & 2, Revolutionists, Meteor Shower, Admissions, Circle Mirror Transformation (Sound Designer), Head Over Heels (Guitar 1), Christmas Carol, The Tempest (Audio Engineer). Kaydin is the musical director of MET Comedy Night's "Off Key: An Improvised Musical” where he provides guitar accompaniment for a group of improv performers (and a drummer!) to sing along to, which Kaydin describes as “basically the improv version of sound design.” His work as a stage technician and audio engineer at the Weinberg and New Spire Arts is ever-changing and demands close attention to detail. Kaydin knows that “a piece of genius forethought during load-in might save the show later that evening.” Kaydin can be heard around town with his guitar, writing his own music, practicing for Off Key, coming up with ideas for sound designs, or just taking a break from the noise.
To learn more about Kaydin and listen to samples of his work, go to KaydinHamby.com.