Rising musical performer Zac Porter chats to us about his family connection to Gilbert & Sullivan, his growing repertoire of vocal impersonations, and his nickname at his local karaoke bar.
As a bass / baritone singer, tell us of some of your favourite pieces of music in that range.
There’s so many to choose from, its honestly hard to pin down. If I had to choose, some of my favourite bass / baritone songs would most likely be: “I am the very model of a modern Major General” (Pirates of Penzance); “Edelweiss” (The Sound of Music); “Stars” (Les Misérables); Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, and “If I were a Rich Man” (Fiddler on the Roof) just to name a few.
"My grandfather has also been a fan of Gilbert & Sullivan, as around my age, he too auditioned for H.M.S Pinafore in England."
Recent productions with G&S WA have turned into a family affair with your sister, Imogen, joining you on stage for Iolanthe, The Grand Duke, and now HMS Pinafore. Does your family enjoy Gilbert & Sullivan?
My family does enjoy watching Gilbert & Sullivan and supporting my sister and I. My parents were originally unfamiliar with Gilbert & Sullivan with the exception of a few popular songs including, “Three Little Maids” and “I am the very model of a modern Major General”; however, they have now come to appreciate more of the lesser known plays of Gilbert & Sullivan.
My sister, after watching me enjoy performing in the 2021 production of The Sorcerer, decided she wanted to experience the joys of performing onstage, and what better production for her to perform in than Iolanthe – she has truly enjoyed the charm that the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of WA has given. My grandfather has also been a fan of Gilbert & Sullivan, as around my age, he too auditioned for H.M.S Pinafore in England.
You have done some voiceover work and occasional voice impersonations – who can you imitate?
When I was young I remember how I would always quote lines from movies and tv shows including Spiderman, Batman and Wallace and Gromit. Over time, I started to try and imitate their voice, especially the voices that are unique. Some imitations that I can do are Gollum from Lord of the Rings, Wallace from Wallace and Gromit, Snape from Harry Potter, and Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars. I have also tried to incorporate more accents in my voiceover work. Some of these accents include General American, Posh English, Cockney English, Scottish, French and German.
Anime is a great art form, which you enjoy watching – tell us about a film you recently saw that impressed you and why.
A film that I have seen recently was Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie. It is a movie about people fighting demons for humanity’s survival. The reason why it impressed me was the stunning animations and fluidity of each fight scene, adding to an already enjoyable plot and amazing characterization.
Finish this sentence – my guilty pleasure is…
My guilty pleasure is heading out to karaoke bars and singing songs to a crowd of people. I enjoy making the crowd smile and dance. This is where I like to experiment with different songs and challenge my vocal range. Often times, people find my performances enjoyable and entertaining. My local karaoke bar gave me the nickname, Zac Attack.