When the state of Florida legalizes same sex marriage, Arthur and Henry (partners of fifty years) come to terms with their differing opinions on the necessity of becoming husbands, even as their son Alexander finds himself wading through some rough new waters of his own. KINGDOM is the story of an entirely-LGBTQ African American family that lives in the near-literal shadow of Orlando’s magical kingdom, as they struggle to create a life together that captures a little bit of that same magic.

Michael Allen Harris^ (Playwright, he/him) is a dramatic writer who currently resides in THE BRONX! He received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Tisch in 2019. He is a 2020 Film Independent: Episodic Lab Fellow. His plays include Kingdom (Broken Nose Theatre), Punk (The New Colony), and Rocky Road (New Studio, Columbia College Chicago). Kingdom was awarded the 2018 BTAA Lorraine Hansberry Award, and was nominated for Best New Play at the 2018 Non-Equity Jeff Awards. Most recently, he workshopped his new play Janet Jackson with Broken Nose in the Off/Nights new-play workshop series. He is proud to be one of the Resident Playwrights of Broken Nose. Outside of writing, he LOVES video games, his favorite series include Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, and The Last of Us. 

Manny Buckley (Director, he/him) is a Chicago-based director, actor, playwright and teaching artist. As a writer and director, his work has been produced in Chicago in the Blue Ink Festival, Ripped: The Living Newspaper Festival, #Enough: Plays To End Gun Violence, and nationally in the One Minute Play festival. His play, Change of a Dress, was a semi-finalist for the Neil LaBute Playwriting Award. He assistant directed the Jeff Award-winning The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey; and most recently, his solo play about civil rights icon Frederick Douglass, The Lion, received a staged reading at American Blues Theater, where he is a proud ensemble member. Manny is a Black Theatre Alliance and Black Excellence Award-winner.

Arielle Leverett* (Assistant Director, she/her) is thrilled to work on Kingdom. She has recently appeared as Max Detweiler in The Sound of Music at Parallel 45 Theatre. Chicago credits include Henry V (First Folio), Southern Gothic (Windy City Playhouse), The Mousetrap (Court Theatre), Ragtime (Griffin Theatre), Pericles and Richard III (Muse of Fire), and The Good Fight (Babes with Blades). She has also worked with Kentucky Shakespeare (Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet) and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (Dreamgirls, A Christmas Carol). Arielle is also a company member of PlayMakers Laboratory Theatre. She has received an MFA in Acting from Western Illinois University and is represented by Big Mouth Talent.

Darren Jones (Arthur, he/him) has recent stage credits that include American Son (Beverly Arts Center); The Projects (Stage Left Theatre); Labyrinth (Broken Nose Theatre); King Lear (Redtwist Theatre); One 4 the Road, Never the Milk and Honey (MPAACT); Crime and Punishment and The Heavens Are Hung in Black with Shattered Globe Theatre Company, where he is an Artistic Associate.

Television credits include Chicago PD (NBC). Movie credits include Chi-Raq, Hood, and Road to Freedom. He’s done commercials from Anheuser Busch, State Farm, Northwestern Medicine, Rivers Casino, Brookfield Zoo and MetLife, along with training and industrial films for Careerbuilder, Accenture, Walgreens, and Sears Auto Center.

Darren is represented by Lily’s Talent Agency.

Watson Swift* (Henry, he/him) is a Master of Public Health graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a graduate of Chicago’s Second City. His acting credits include: Her Honor Jane Byrne (Understudy, Lookingglass Theatre); Ten: Non-Disclosure Agreement and understudying Hamlet (Gift Theatre); Best For Winter - An Adaptation of The Winter’s Tale (Idle Muse Theatre); Yes, Every Time (Development Workshop, Steppenwolf Theatre); Kingdom and The Dictionary Project Vol. IV (Broken Nose Theatre); Speed of Light, At Mister Kelly’s and Death in a Beulah Box (Three Cat Productions); Among the Quick and the Dead (Prologue Theatre); Scenes from an Execution (Runcible Theatre); Stoop Time (You and Me Productions); Freedom Summer (Civil Rights Art Project); and Out Loud (eta Creative Arts Foundation). He has also co-starred on Chicago Med and appeared in several independent film productions.

Ben F. Locke* (Alexander, anything respectable) is so excited to be coming full circle with Kingdom! He worked with Broken Nose as the Alex Understudy for Kingdom’s original production and is so happy to be coming back to this role! Other Broken Nose credits include Jomal AKA Booty Shorts in Plainclothes, directing Rehearsal in Bechdel Fest, assistant directing Labyrinth, and being part of the Off/Nights Series as both an actor and playwright/director. Other theatre credits include Steppenwolf, Drury Lane, and Court Theatre. His plays can be found on The New Play Exchange.

RjW Mays* (Phaedra, she/her) has been an ensemble member with BNT for a few years now, and after playing Phaedra in the play’s 2018 world premiere (for which she received the BTAA Award for Best Featured Actress), she feels like this audio play of Kingdom is like coming full circle. During the pandemic, Rj had the opportunity to work on a live virtual play (The Projects), and it was an affirming experience. She has been involved in several Zoom readings and podcasts with 16th Street Theatre, Three Cat Productions and Artemesia.

William Anthony Sebastian Rose II* (Malik, he/him) is a Chicago based actor who most recently played the psychotic Emperor and power hungry but moronically pathetic Prince in The True Tale of Princess Kaguya (Kunoichi Productions). Chicago Credits include: a still-wet-behind-the-ears loan officer in Labyrinth (Broken Nose Theater), a man searching for his truth in The First Deep Breath (Victory Gardens Theater), a dilettante English lord fancying himself an amateur sleuth in Whose Body, an undercover anarchist in The Man Who Was Thursday (Lifeline Theater) and a forgotten political prisoner fighting for change in We Are Pussy Riot (Red Tape Theater). Represented by Big Mouth Talent Agency.

Eric Backus (Sound Designer, he/him) is a composer and sound designer based in Chicago. He works nationally, specializing in live sound design and original music composition for plays and musicals. Eric has previously worked with Broken Nose on The Opportunities of Extinction. Other Chicago credits include Chicago include Plano (First Floor Theater, Steppenwolf LookOut Series), Short Shakes! Comedy of Errors (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), Every Brilliant Thing (Windy City Playhouse), Wolf Play (Gift Theatre, Jeff Nomination), and The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (American Blues Theater, Jeff Nomination). In addition to theatre, Eric has composed and sound designed for podcasts and film. To hear some of his music, please visit ericbackus.com.

Jacqui Jaurena (Editor, she/her) is a Chicago actor/singer/comedian with a side hustle as an editor. During the pandemic, she has worked with Broken Nose as a video editor on projects like MARE, Bechdel Fest 8: Realign, Book of Shadows, Billy to His Friends, and BNT’s ensemble Spotlight series. Other Chicago credits include Redtwist Theatre’s 2019 Jeff Recommended production of Keely & Du, the world premiere of Mommy Will The World End Tonight with Theatre Wit, and several comedy shows including Chicago Women's Funny Fest 2019. Jacqui’s current projects include understudying in Redtwist Theatre’s production of The Humans, as well as the lighthearted mental health podcast, Weighted Blanket Happy Hour, which she hosts with Julia Skeggs. To reach further into the grab bag of Jacqui’s random talents, feel free to visit JacquiJaurena.com

Jen Poulin* (Transcriptions, she/her) is a Chicago based director and dramaturg, whose recent projects include The River Bride with Halcyon (dramaturg) and What of the Night? with Stage Left and Cor Theatre (assistant director). She previously served as Interim Grants Manager and Artistic Programs Apprentice at American Theater Company, and Associate Artistic Director of BackStage Theatre Company. She has worn many hats since earning her Theatre Studies BFA from University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign: educator, box office assistant, blood mopper, script mistress, stage and production manager, producer, and performer. Her stage management and directing credits span many fine Chicago companies, including Adventure Stage Chicago, Strawdog Theatre Company, Steep Theatre Company, Mary Arrchie Theatre Company, and WildClaw Theatre. She is also an Artistic Associate with No Stakes Theater Project.

Want to Read Along?

Following its World Premiere in 2018, KINGDOM was published by Stage Rights. For those of you who missed the audio play but still want to experience this gorgeously poetic depiction of love and perseverance, this script makes an excellent addition to any theatre-lover’s library!