By Craig Horleman

DOVER — A story fit for a king (or a prince) will be told this weekend by The Children’s Theatre, as “Princess and the Pea” hits the Schwartz Center for the Arts.

The fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, adapted for the stage by Pat Rosenthal, revolves around the search for a true princess for Prince Peter. In it, the kingdom can remain free only as long as there is a royal king and queen, but only a real princess can pass the test, marry the prince and succeed to the throne.

The right choice must be able to feel a small pea through 20 mattresses, and the search for her carries Peter through a host of adventures.

“The show is so much fun,” said director Carol-Ann Harding, who is working with a small cast by Children’s Theatre standards, only 11 actors.

“Because we have 11 in the cast and because the show is around an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, what we’ve done is we’ve broken it down and only done a couple of scenes a night. And then beforehand, we’ve had our student director (Justin Truitt) working with actors on some improv games and stuff. I’ve been directing 10 years, and so this is the fastest I’ve seen a cast come together,” she said.

“Out of our 11, five are brand new to the theater. They have formed these friendships real fast, and we’ve been so excited to watch this. They learned their lines so fast, and their interaction is just great. So I’m excited.”

Nathan Ridgely, 10, of Magnolia, is one of those new to Children’s Theatre. He plays the pivotal role of Prince Peter and joined the cast after a summer camp at the Milton Theatre, where participants performed “Matilda Jr.”

“I like acting and thought this would be fun,” he said. “I like to be here. It’s very entertaining and a good after-school activity.”

As the prince, he goes through the countryside looking for his princess.

“He has to find the princesses, and his mom and dad have to test them to see if they are true princesses. The first two are fake, and then, the last one is the real princess.”

The diminutive 9-year-old Austyn Lefort of Wyoming plays the king, the prince’s father.

“My character is grumpy and tired. And he always has a tummyache, and he just wants his son to find a true princess and to live happily ever after,” Austyn said.

Jane Fennemore, 10, of Dover, portrays Witch Zelda, a role that’s a lot different from her personality.

“In real life, I’d say I’m pretty kind. In the play, I play a really rude, selfish person. At first, I was shy to do it, but I’ve gotten into it as we’ve gone along,” she said.

Kacie Shannon, 13, of Dover, is one of the princesses, Zorina, who vies for the hand of the prince.

“She’s in disguise with Witch Zelda, so I’m trying to trick the prince into falling in love with me. I like my character because she goes from being evil into trying to get the prince to fall in love with her,” she said.

With Children’s Theatre shows usually using upwards of 40 kids, this one is a change of pace, but the actors say they enjoy being a small troupe.

“Small casts are really fun because you get to, like, know every person in the cast. When there’s a big cast, you don’t know everybody, and it feels like you have a few friends, and everybody else just has their own friends. You’re just kind of separated when you have a big cast like that,” said Lily Truitt, 12, of Dover, who plays Mary.

In the show, her real-life brother, Justin, plays her stage brother, Simon.

Along with being a small cast, the actors are on the younger side, with most in elementary or middle school. Ms. Harding said that was a bit of a worry for her at first.

“Being involved with the theater this long, certain people are like, ‘Oh, we should do a play with all brand-new people,’ and I’m going, ‘No, you need some veteran actors to kind of show the younger ones the way because that’s the best way for them to learn.’ Me, as a director, I’m an adult. But when they hear it from somebody their own age, it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, I get it.’”

Rounding out the show are Willow Eilers, 11, as Queen Sasparilla; Regina Guerrero, 12, as the jester; Ashlynn McDevitt, 8, as Forest Creature No. 2; Hannah Westman, 13, as Princess Priscilla; and Phoebe Wong, 12, as Forest Creature No. 1.

The show will be staged Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Schwartz Center for the Arts, 226 S. State St., Dover.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here or at the door.