Kyle Loven

Family photos with the pups 💝💝💝💝💝

It’s World Theatre Day! Feeling grateful for the art-making that feeds my soul. So lucky to have joined the singular @theatre_replacement as their new Artistic Producer this year, and getting to support the work of so many important artists (thank you @maikobae ). And making a new show with my Mom is the dream I never knew I had. Here’s to a next year of even more theatre making. Life is so much better with theatre. Go support your local makers and venues.

Bye 2025. 20 snapshots of a very big, emotional year. I got on anti-anxiety meds for the first time. I overcame fears of actual swimming (getting your head wet and being in big open water) by going night snorkeling with manta rays in Hawai’i and taking surfing lessons in Tofino. @grizzlychadamsthefirst and I celebrated 10 years together (and 5 married). I found art in daily life with directing and co-creating my dear friend Andrew’s birthday show and choreographing Xmas day family pool shoots. I found memories of my Dad in driving a 26’ RV through northern BC. And while I don’t have evidence of any kitchen dancing this year, there were many nights of release at home and some dancing documentation elsewhere. A lot of work to live more honestly and more accurately communicate my heart. The year felt really really hard. But when I look back on these photos and videos, I see so much joy, effort and accomplishment. Here’s to a 2026 that gives us the courage to follow our own light and live life more fully.

7 pictures to remember Mom’s 70th birthday in Hawai’i (I’m on vacation and finally taking the time to post about a few special adventures/events in 2025). We went zip lining over waterfalls, watched a volcano erupt, had turtles swim by us, drank out of custom Vic’s Traditon cups that Chadwick made, and got to give our Mom the trip she had dreamed of for many years. Super grateful for this memory. Love you, @marlysloven ! P.S. Forgive the terrible cropping on the last video. I am clearly not hip enough to take videos vertically for new social media.

My favorite photo I took of the dogs this year…

John (Sisko) was one of the first friends I made after moving to Seattle. We’d sit in his art gallery drinking red wine, talking about all the things: the business of art, theatre, pop culture, sexuality, family, stress. He became a sort of art Dad to me. His chop saw helped build Loss Machine and When You Point at the Moon sets. He sat front row for my first public Me Love BINGO!. He named Lewis’ dog (Buster) in my dear Lewis. He even let me take over his rental storage space that became my art studio for five years. He died a few months before I moved away from Seattle. Our final texts are about him searching for an overhead projector and us discussing overhead vs opaque projectors. Almost every hangout was in his gallery, sitting in the back, surrounded by his personal art on the shelves. I spent many hours staring at the way he had sculpted the human body (and some animals) in these facades and planes. The little marks up close from his tools. The dedication and permanence of bronze. One year we made our own block prints and pressed them in his gallery to make holiday cards. He sent me one of his cards and it’s been the only piece of his art that I’ve ever had. With the cost of sculpture, I never expected to have anything else. This Solstice, Chadwick gifted me one of John’s sculptures. It’s called “Minotaur II: Concealed” and just happens to be from my favorite series that John ever did. Chadwick searched high and low for a very long time and got multiple loved ones involved to help get this piece home. It was an edition of 15 but the piece we have actually says AP, Artist’s Proof, on the inside. It’s a copy that comes from the same mold and casting process, but is reserved for the artist to keep or exhibit or gift. A piece from John, for John, that I’m honored to carry forward. For an art gallery owner who spent a lot of time with people, I mostly knew the private side of John. The one-on-one conversations and the topics that I’m fairly confident most people didn’t get to hear. The quiet strength side that he and his sculptures both carried. Biggest thanks to @grizzlychadamsthefirst for this incredible gift and for knowing what it means to me.

Two weeks ago, my Mom and I had the incredible gift of spending a week in Victoria as Artists-in-Residence at @impulsetheatre ‘s Peek Fest. Endless gratitude to @weandrewb and the entire Impulse team for believing in this project and giving time, space and resources without any expectations for sharing or having a product by week’s end. We got to gently introduce my Mom to working in a theatre (she’s a natural at finding her light), breaking down how to craft with a live audience (watching old crafting tv programs from the 90s gave a lot of clarity), and be in the same physical space for the first time in our development process (after a year and a half on Zoom). I even got to lead a workshop sharing my vocabulary and development ideas for immersive theatre works like Me Love BINGO!. After so much of this piece living in my head, it felt so good to leave Victoria with Mom caught up to the same page and her feeling excited to be making this show together. I love the audience experience we’re developing and can’t wait for Mom and I to share this piece with you in 2027. Big big thanks, Impulse! P.S.- a few photos from our residency including my Mom’s hot glue gun that she passed down to me this visit after it being her crafting sidekick for the last 40+ years. 🩵

Wrapping up 11 days in Hawaii to celebrate my Mom’s 70th birthday. Another post to come with lots of family pics but a highlight was watching the Kīlauea volcano erupt within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Chadwick and I drove across the Big Island at 3:45 am to watch the lava move from a bubbling cauldron below the most star-filled sky I’ve ever seen, to a neon-orange daytime geyser. It was so humbling and comforting to be reminded of the scale of our lives in this big big universe. What a wild thing it is to be alive. ❤️‍🔥 📷: The second photo and video are from @grizzlychadamsthefirst ‘s nicer camera.

A day late to #worldpuppetryday but here we are. Oh, dear puppetry. The best magic trick I’ve ever seen. You ignite my brain to test what’s possible, you inspire my hands to build what only I can see, and you enrich my heart to watch the illusion unfold. Thank you. I’m excited to be returning to you with current projects. This photo is my backstage view of Loss Machine from its most recent run at HOLD ON LET GO last month in Vancouver. Big love to @maikobae and the entire teams at @theatre_replacement and @company605 for inviting me to share this work after nearly 11 years in storage. It felt so good to return to this strange little world of puppets and objects and wires and detritus. And swipe to see the only new puppet that had to be remade for this run (because of course a show about lost objects had to somehow lose one puppet). This Hare is one of my favorite characters and was beautifully remade by the super talented @stephepuppets .

Vancouver! “Loss Machine” is less than a month away! Single Tickets and Festival Passes are all on sale and selling quick! Shows on Feb 5 + 8. Link in my bio! This piece is so dear to my heart and was made with so many incredible Seattle collaborators back in 2012. I’m thrilled to give this small-scale beast of a show its Canadian premiere. Big thanks to @theatre_replacement and @company605 for putting on HOLD ON LET GO and including me in the mix. You can get just a single ticket to “Loss Machine” or a festival pass to see other cool work like “Secret Ingredients” by @keely.rois.obrien and a special screening of “Looping”, a Company 605 film directed by @aryokh . And if you’re an emerging artist, there’s a special series of conversations like one between @amanduhsum and @davey_pacific1 that sounds so fruitful. Photo by Tim Summers

The carefree joy I’m bringing into 2025. HNY babies. 🩵

Bye 2024. I’m a bit sad that I had a hard time seeing your beauty because I was too tired or overwhelmed much of the year and felt the stress more than the magic. In true 2024 style, the long post that I composed for over an hour failed to upload and IG made me start over. So this is all I have left to share. 13 photos/videos for 12 months in no actual order (I gave myself an extra for the leap year but they definitely don’t reflect one frame per month). Some health issues, some art making, some travels, and more dancing at home and in public. Grateful for a body that lets me make art, see the world, and be gentle. Thanks to everyone who showed me love throughout the year. Can’t do this trip without you.