The theory of conceptual blending and its applications in children's theater performances

  Through the researcher’s review of the literature, she found it necessary to conduct a study exploring the effects of the blending theory in children's theater. She articulated the problem with the following question: What are the applications of the blending theory in children's theater performances? The research objective was to (introduce the blending theory and reveal its applications in children's theater performances) .Its boundaries were defined by the aesthetic applications of the theory in theatrical performances aimed at children in Iraq between (2020-2025). As for the second chapter, it revolved around two axes: the first focused on the theory of conceptual blending, its manifestations, and its tools. The second focused on the aesthetic elements of children's theater performances, concluding with indicators of the theoretical framework. As for the third chapter, it included the methodology represented by descriptive analysis and its community represented by the Iraqi children's theater performances presented in Baghdad for the years 2020/2025. (Al-Sahil and Al-Misbah) were chosen randomly and constituted (10%) of the community. An instrument was designed to detect the applications of the theory in the performances, which showed the following results: The manifestations of conceptual blending in the performances were equal across all their axes with a total of (269) and a percentage of (4.80525%) .In terms of conceptual blending tools: the modeling of the conceptual blend that arises in the blending space with a dimensional structure achieved the highest frequency with a count of 275 and a percentage of 5.39025%. The researcher concluded with several notable findings: the features of conceptual blending emerged equally in all dialogues due to the theoretical requirements for the presence of these features represented in the spaces (the two inputs, the comprehensive, and the blended).