419th reservist shows Christmas 'spirit' in community theater

  • Published
  • By Bryan Magaña
  • 419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OGDEN, UT --  Senior Airman Scott Hansen is tapping into the dark side of Christmas with a role as the Ghost of Christmas Future in Beverly Olsen's Scrooge: A Christmas Carol at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Ogden. 

"I play the part of Christmas Future, so I put on stilts and a huge black robe for the part," said Airman Hansen, a medical technician in the 419th Fighter Wing's Medical Squadron. His costume also includes heavy makeup.

But preparing for the part takes more than donning the ghostly getup. Airman Hansen also read Charles Dickens' original A Christmas Carol to do a character study on the traditionally non-speaking role. Since September, he and his cast mates have rehearsed three to four times a week, and by the end of December, will have performed Scrooge 18 times. Airman Hansen has played the same role numerous times, and for the past few years didn't even have to audition for it. 

Airman Hansen said his parents encouraged him to sing in elementary school, when he joined a school choir, and that he began acting at a young age as well. He has appeared in more than 30 shows at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse since moving to Utah in 1999. 

"I really feel like a live theater brings a positive quality to a community that nothing else can," he said. Because all the actors are volunteers, the feeling of service is strong. "I wouldn't have it any other way." 

Airman Hansen's cast mates know he's in another kind of service as well. Several people have thanked him for his commitment to the Air Force Reserve and the United States, he said. 

"I am proud to be in the Reserve, and [my cast mates] are proud to have me there," he said. 

Airman Hansen joined the Reserve in 2007 and said he had always wanted to join the military. 

Besides his Reserve duties and theater commitments, Airman Hansen works at the base's fitness center and attends Weber State University, where he is studying to become a mortician.