"I feel very grateful to have taken these photos of Billy, and I hold them close to my heart," said photographer Zeren. "We collaborated once on this project before, back in March of 2015 when he was on a brief hiatus from Kinky Boots. Some weeks later, I ran into him on 9th Ave., after he had returned to the production for his final stretch as Lola. At the time, he mentioned this run was going to be a process of saying goodbye and letting go of this character that he had been so intrinsically connected to since the beginning. That conversation sparked the idea for this Farewell to Lola series. Due to his crazy schedule, it wasn't until the very end of his run that we were able to make this happen. We had about five minutes to curtain in his dressing room. In that brief amount of time we were able to capture these beautifully introspective photos of Billy in preparation for performance with Lola's boots hung up behind him, ready for the next chapter. The following night would be his farewell. I'm so happy to have this opportunity to share these images with you now. A huge thank-you to Billy for making the time, for being a fierce talent and generous collaborator, and to the wonderful Chelsea Nachman for organizing the shoot – without her this would not have been possible."
For more shots of Porter as he bid farewell to Kinky Boots, click here and visit TheCreativeFacesProject.com. You can also follow the project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
