There’s a very special place in my heart for Mount Baker Theatre.  This Bellingham treasure was built in 1927 and is the largest performing arts facility of its kind north of Seattle.  I remember, as a child, watching the movie “Where the Lilies Bloom.”  I remember going to see Weird Al and other great shows as I grew. I was on staff as Program Director for three years, and I have welcomed many an audience and even performed on the MBT stage.  (I played The Pea in “Once Upon the End,” produced by Bellingham Children’s Theatre in 1999.)

You can imagine, then, how honored I was to be asked to emcee Mount Baker Theatre’s recent Season Preview and Benefit.  It was the who’s-who of the arts and philanthropic community in NW Washington.  Mount Baker Theatre members and sponsors were invited to get a sneak peak of MBT’s 2010-2011 Season.  It was a fabulous night and I thank MBT for letting me be a part of it.  That place in my heart continues to grow for this amazing performing arts organization.

It started about a year ago when I posted (on my facebook page) a few classic pictures from the profiles of my on-line dating matches.  I was so amazed by the response, that I posted another album…and another.  I entitled the albums eek!Harmony and found my friends wanting me to friend their friends so they could enjoy them as well.

This has now taken on a life of its own.  I have created a Facebook Fanpage so anyone can contribute their stories of being single and dating.  It’s real life.  It’s therapy.  It’s fun.

Here it is! Super excited to be a part of this project. Let’s hope they ask me to come back to bake some muffins, cornbread and brownies! Thank you, Continental Mills and Krusteaz, for asking me to be a part of this!  And thank you, Millennium Arts and Think-A-Tron for the great production.

I turned 40 last year.  The words that almost every woman dreads came from my doctor’s lips, “Time for your mammogram.”  I had heard the horror stories, by the way.  What woman doesn’t?  I remember vividly the first time I heard The Mammogram Poem. I cringed.  Reluctantly, I went.  Yes, I was squished.  Yes, it was uncomfortable, but…but…surprisingly, it wasn’t near as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I was in and out of the examination room in less than 10 minutes.  I practically skipped out of the building.  Yes, a 40 year old…skipping.

This year, when October came around and those pink ribbons started popping up for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought, what better way to raise awareness than to bring a camera into the examination room and film a mammogram?  My mammogram.

The segment was promoted heavily through the local media.  Here’s an interview with Brad and John from 92.9 FM KISM’s Morning Show.  It was also picked up by KGMI and KAFE.  It really was wonderful to see the local media talk about this.  My hope was that in getting more people to watch this segment, fears of this procedure would be calmed and more women would make a point to schedule their own mammogram.

Here’s how it turned out:

Deb’s Mammogram from deb slater on Vimeo.

It’s always exciting when a business or organization wants to embrace the potential of the internet; the interactivity of the web.  Recently, I was booked to be the talent for an on-line video, demonstrating how easy it is to make Krusteaz Artisan Bread at home.  Thanks to a great crew, it almost looks like I make bread every week.  Great crew, great product.  Be looking for the link soon on a box near you.

On set at Continental Mills, Tukwila, WA

Rows and rows of product. Krusteaz Test Kitchen.

Screen shot from video shoot.

I’ve watched him for years on the TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway?”  He was always my favorite, with his lanky presence, crazy shoes and amazing talent at coming up with funny stuff on the spot. I’m talking, of course, about Ryan Stiles.  When I started producing and hosting Experience Northwest on KVOS, getting him on the show was a goal.  He lives in Bellingham after all…one of our only celebrities to speak of, really, if you don’t count the mayor or any of our local radio personalities.  When we started producing the segment “Who Do You Think You Are?” it was a natural fit.  I was a little apprehensive going into the interview.  Ryan: improv genius, me: a little quick witted, but nothing compared to the master.  I decided to just let it go and try to get at least a few answers out of the guy. Here’s a sample of what happened:

Outtake from Stiles interview from deb slater on Vimeo.

Here is the complete interview.  You’ll see that I decided to leave the “outtake” in.  I like the idea of pulling the curtain back.  Bellingham is lucky to have such a great guy as part of the community. Thank you, Ryan Stiles, for making us laugh.

Who Do You Think You Are…Ryan Stiles? from ENW with Deb Slater on Vimeo.

It’s always great to see the Wizards of the Coast crew again.  The locations are exotic and the work is long and hard, and to reconnect with the guys on the crew is always a lot of fun.  This time ’round, we were in Honolulu.  Tough job, I know.

We are excited to see habits forming with the viewership of our Tournament Center updates, shot and produced on site and quickly uploaded to Wizards YouTube account. Magic players from all over the world can’t wait to watch the next “Deck Tech” or “Day Wrap Up.”

We also were fortunate to travel to the North Shore to check out a house that a handful of Magic players rented just for this tournament.  After a day of shooting interviews and b roll, this is the final product. And, as you can see, it’s very, very difficult work…

I finally finished editing my reel…well, for now anyway.   Here are some of the highlights of my on-camera work so far.

Deb Demo from deb slater on Vimeo.

Time for another Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour.  Worlds in Memphis.  Lots to do, including record, edit and post Tournament Center updates.  But we did have time to see the legendary BB King at his club on Beale.  

We are excited to be getting lots of hits on our content posted on Youtube and embedded on Magic’s website.  Our viewership has grown exponentially since starting the Tournament Center for the 2007 season.  Just goes to show the power of content on demand and the habits that are formed when new content is being added consistently.  (Speaking of that, you can also check out the new content from my ENW show by clicking here.)  To see some of the stuff we are producing for Magic: The Gathering, click here.

Yesterday marked day one of the Social Media Conference in Bellingham.  I attended with my KVOS hat on, interviewing speakers and attendees.  (Video coming soon.)  While there, Aaron Booker, from Social Pastures, and John Mortensen from Think-a-tron Media Laboratories interviewed me on my “traditional media” back ground and how social networking and media is changing things in this industry.       

Deb Slater talking about the conjunction of Social Media and Traditional Video from Aaron Booker on Vimeo.