Amy Fortoul holds final show

IU alumnus Amy Fortoul will present her final performance of her autobiographical one-woman show "this IS my BODY" at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.. Proceeds from the show will support Fortoul's upcoming tour.\n"This IS my BODY" blends dance, storytelling, multimedia and stage movement. Fortoul's show places emphasis on body image, sexuality and eating disorders.\n"My intention is to bring what's hidden into the public arena and be honest and bold in my retelling, to extend permission to people to move into their own pain by modeling the journey," Fortoul said.\nHer shows have made powerful impressions on some. \n"The fact that she uses her art to help get through things, it inspires me to use my art to help me deal with things in my life, and to share that with others to help them," said senior Galia Arad, who studies in musical theatre.\nSince returning to Bloomington last summer, Fortoul has performed "this IS my BODY" at the John Waldron Arts Center's Rose Firebay, the Loving Heart and the Bloomington Playwrights Project. The Buskirk-Chumley will be her biggest house yet. \n"Amy has performed cuttings from her production for a couple of my movement classes," said George Pinney, an IU professor of movement and musical theatre, who also worked with Fortoul when she was an undergraduate. "The students were captivated, energized and stimulated not only by the performance, but also by the message so well conveyed. Her show is immediate. Students who see the performance will learn many lessons about life as well as craft." \nThe final showing of "this IS my BODY" will also feature vocalist Janiece Jaffe at 7:30 p.m. and talk-back session after the show with a panel compromised of local professionals in eating disorders, sexuality, health and psychology.\nThe history of "this IS my BODY" is tied deeply to Bloomington. Its creative genesis stretches back to Fortoul's high school years. At 17, Fortoul founded a theater company and took it with her to IU. The company, Imagination Productions, created original works focused on social issues -- AIDS, homophobia and drug addiction among them -- and often performed at the JWAC. \n"I didn't want (our shows) to be after-school specials," Fortoul said. "I wanted people to empathize with struggling with these issues."\nFortoul also wanted to avoid being preachy, so she created workshops to go along with her shows at various social service organizations to get feedback from those who knew the issues firsthand. \nFortoul premiered "this IS my BODY" in Albuquerque, N.M., with the help of a friend. With the need and the market Fortoul saw from her "Naked Truth" tour still intact, she decided to get out of New York for a summer and tour "this IS my BODY." That summer, Fortoul performed in Albuquerque, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Bloomington, among other locations. \n"It's very comforting to see how far she's gone," Arad said. "She is so strong, she respects herself so much, she's overcome so much. She embodies what I'm striving for."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Patrick Doolin at pdoolin@indiana.edu.