Cultural Placemaking Through the Arts - Christopher Ryland and Elissa Hoogerhyde

Annotation Christopher Ryland and Elissa Hoogerhyde are graduates of the Charter Arts High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Ryland was a theater major while attending the school. He now works full-time as a paramedic, but works as a substitute teacher at the Charter Arts School, where he teaches theater. He also performs in local theater. Hoogerhyde was a dance major while attending the school. She now works full-time as a dance teacher at the Performing Arts Elementary School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Ryland and Hoogerhyde discuss the importance of arts education to them, and about the importance of art to the community of the Lehigh Valley. They talk about challenges they have faced as young artists in trying to practice their craft while also making a living, and about other challenges like finding space, networking, and keeping young artists in the area. This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted by Lehigh University in collaboration with area artists Doug Roysdon (Mock Turtle Marionette Theater), Anna Russell, and Avi Setton. These interviews were supported in part by the Lehigh University Mellon Digital Humanities Initiative. An oral history interview is an act of memory and hence both highly selective and highly subjective. While it accurately reflects what a narrator remembers (or chooses to tell) of his or her experience and viewpoints, it may not accurately represent what actually transpired or what another person may have experienced. As such users should subject interviews to the same degree of critical scrutiny they would any other historical source.