FARMINGTON — University of Maine at Farmington will present a theater workshop production of “Bridge,” an original play inspired by the true story of Charlie Howard. Howard was the victim of a 1984 hate crime in Maine that galvanized a community and the state. Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. April 5 and 6, in the Performance Space in the Emery Community Arts Center.

Written and directed by award-winning Maine playwright Jayne Decker, the one-act play was developed in a theater workshop with UMF students and tells the story of a young man as he is bullied and thrown off a bridge for being gay. While the main character in Decker’s drama is named to honor Howard, the rest of the play’s characters and location are nameless — emphasizing how this is everyone’s tragedy.

Like many similar stories from today’s headlines, “Bridge” underscores how personal and societal responsibilities go hand-in-hand. Simply staged, the play moves between the past and the present to reveal each character’s story and the role of the community in the end results.

This theater workshop production is sponsored by the Emery Community Arts Center and contains adult language and is for a mature audience. Doors open 30 minutes before all performances. The play runs approximately 40 minutes.