As a mother, Tiffany McCauley-Bridges appreciates the work of Storyland Theatre.

"I've taken my children to several shows," said Ms. McCauley-Bridges, a mother of four who is stepping out of the audience to be part of Storyland's upcoming production of The Princess and The Pea.

Ms. McCauley-Bridges is no stranger to the stage or to Storyland Theatre's executive director, Barbara Feldman. In the early 1990s, Ms. McCauley-Bridges was a student at John S. Davidson Fine Arts School when Ms. Feldman directed the school's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

"I felt it was time to get back into it," said Ms. McCauley-Bridges, who provides comic relief in the character of Hester the Jester.

Storyland Theatre's tale of The Princess and the Pea follows the story of an unlikely looking princess who must prove her royalty to a queen by finding the pea in a towering stack of mattresses.

Prince Handsome II, played by Brandon Brune, literally catches his bride, Princess Nutmeg, played by Nichole Kuehl, during a fishing expedition. After becoming tangled in his fishing line, she is dragged through the mud, and the prince discovers, despite his phobia of dirt, that he "kind of likes" this bedraggled and muddied woman.

The production features an original script by Richard Davis Jr. and an original score by Susan Reese Frank.

The show will be staged at 9:30 and 10:45 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday through April 4 at the Imperial Theatre. The weekday-morning performances are $4.50 per student and require a reservation.

A matinee performance will be staged at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5. The cost is $5, and no reservations are needed. Active-duty military and their dependents will be admitted free to this show.

For more information, call (706) 736-3455.

Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.