On July 29th 2020, Ashley and I met our good friend Bob Towers at a Turkish Coffee shop on Bold Street. It was a time when restrictions were fairly eased and the future of performing arts was very bleak. Myself and Ashley also shared concerns about Likeminded’s future. 

The initial meeting was all about Ashley's book and Bob’s soon to be released collection of short stories titled, Vodka and Mushroom. The conversation soon came onto the future of Likeminded. I have to admit, I really struggled through the first lockdown and I had a defeated attitude; “what future have we got. We will be forgotten in a year”.

Amid conversation, while I was feeling sorry for myself , Bob uttered, “what about a podcast?” Once I heard that, something within me clicked. It was like a creative bomb exploded in my head. Within a few minutes and very fast spoken (If you’ve met me you’ll understand) I came up with the direction we would take, I even had all the guest’s names wrote out. Ashley gave me that look of, what has just happened. 

 Fast forward to a year later and  after three seasons under our belt, it’s great to look at what Andrew, Bob and Caitlin have achieved. Their commitment and consistency has been unbelievable and helped the company survive through the hardest times in our lives, it even inspired our next venture, Opening Nights. 

As myself, Ashley and Liz continue to work on getting our planned production; Kristallnacht on it’s feet. I’ll also be working on expanding Opening Nights. This will not just be a podcast, but a platform to highlight the northwest creative scene in different ways. The plan for Opening Nights is that eventually will be a separate identity to Likeminded. I will continue to share our developments of this exciting venture. 

Again, we can’t thank everyone enough for the support you have given us. It means the world to know that so many of you believe in us and love what we do. 

Words by Christopher Woodward
Images by Andrew Smith