Summer Nights is facilitated by Global Hive Laboratories

in association with Teatro Vista Productions

Summer Nights is led by Denise Yvette Serna and will include research and development of Sunset: 60 minutes, a companion piece to a current work in development FIELD GUIDE: for queers at the end of the world. It will also include presentations of Night Diaries, a new translation of the acclaimed Italian production Giornale Notturno (1978-2012).
The project includes (June-August)

• Master Classes in scene study at Chicago’s Remy Bumppo Theatre with Denise Yvette Serna (USA)

• On site research at the Trans Library Helsinki and Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Finland)

• Performance art research in Emilia-Romagna at Teatro di Grazzano Visconti with Global Hive Labs and ChezActors company, culminating in a public sharing of material from Sunset 60 minutes. (Italy)

• Performance and Active Translation development lab with Pivot Arts Festival and Global Hive Labs, culminating in two public sharings at the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for Performing and Media Arts, located in downtown Chicago (USA)

• On site research at the Leather Archives And Museum (USA)

• Public presentations of Night Diaries, a new translation of Giornale Notturno (1978-2012). Public presentations of the Active Translation will take place in Chicago at Stage Center Theatre (Northeastern Illinois University), Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (The University of Chicago) (USA), and in New York City at The Flea (The Pete) USA

• An immersive late night event at Cedillo’s Fresh Produce (urban farm, Englewood Chicago) incorporating site specific performances of Night Diaries and material developed during Summer Nights (USA)

Experience classes, open rehearsals, public presentations, and site specific performances that further performance art research in experimental forms, Active Translation, and embodied dramaturgy. With international explorations and select public sharings throughout summer 2025, you can engage as a spectator, collaborator, and supporter of this vibrant artist and her work.  

Attend all events or **curate your own journey**—join us for everything or drop in for the moments that speak to you most! 

NIGHT DIARIES

Giornale Notturno (1978–2012) is an active translation of Belgian dramatist Jan Fabre’s original Night Diaries and texts. Edoardo Callegari curated a selection of these writings, which were then translated by acclaimed Italian artist Carolina Migli Bateson.

The Italian premiere of Giornale Notturno was a one-woman show that received critical acclaim in Italy in 2024. It also featured a unique visual art element created by Svetlana Golubeva (Inthegardendesign) that will be featured at presentations in the USA.

We believe in a Total Theatre – one where all disciplines, practices, styles, genres and forms can share an equal import in the sensory journey of the audience.  Our objective is to identify the questions and facts on the subject, examine and deconstruct them, then rebuild with what best fits to any given moment or expression and a focus on what new is created when opposing forms, practices and ideas are put in combination.

USA Lab will be facilitated by Denise Yvette Serna

Italian Lab will be co-facilitated by Carolina Migli Bateson and Denise Yvette Serna, with our colleagues at Teatro Trieste 34, ChezActors Company, and Teatro Di Grazzano Visconti.