PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — A town hall-like discussion was held Wednesday at the Pensacola Opera rehearsal hall in downtown Pensacola to educate attendees about the transgender community.

The discussion was held in advance of Pensacola Opera’s Nov. 1 premiere of “As One,” an opera that follows along the journey of a transgender woman as she discovers who she is and finds her “true self,” said Pensacola Opera education director Cody Martin.

“‘As One’ is presented in a series of vignettes, so we have a scene where she’s going through the library and she’s going through a card catalogue and she first heard about the word transgender,” Martin said, describing the opera. “Then we have a scene where she’s starting to take hormones. There’s a scene where she decides to move to Norway and when she’s an adult, she can really live freely and openly.”

Pensacola Opera held the discussion to inform those in the community of some of the struggles the transgender community goes through, while also discussing correct pronoun usage and teaching how to discuss gender identity, Martin said.

“We know there’s a need for these types of pieces that really speak to people. Relevant topics, things that people are thinking about today — especially in an area like this that might not be as familiar with these types of topics,” Martin said. “It’s important to introduce them and get a conversation going. We need to make sure people are aware of what transgender people go through so we can kind of try to understand what it’s like to go through that.”

“As One” premieres at the Pensacola Little Theater November 1st and runs three nights. Tickets cost $25.

You can purchase them here. Follow Pensacola Opera’s Facebook for more upcoming talks ahead of the premiere of “As One.”