Chapter One

First: The Research Problem

Despite the educational and aesthetic importance of educational theater as an effective educational and educational means to combine the aesthetic and educational dimensions and its ability to influence the recipient and develop his awareness, behavior and knowledge through live performances based on direct interaction, the actual practice of educational theater shows reveals a clear gap between the creative possibilities offered by theater as a comprehensive art, and many of its performances are still built according to traditional patterns and stereotypes in the presentation system Theatrical, which limits the employment of creative thinking in its various elements such as text, direction, scenography, acting performance, and interaction with the recipient. It is noted that the lack of awareness of the concepts of creative thinking and its applied mechanisms among those in charge of producing educational theater performances leads to systematic performances that lack innovation and do not invest the potential of theater in developing the learner's imagination and critical and creative abilities. Hence, the research problem is identified in the following question: How does creative thinking contribute to building the theatrical presentation system in educational theater performances, and what is the impact of this on the effectiveness of the show and its educational and artistic attractiveness?

Second: Research Objective

Revealing the concept of creative thinking and its role in building the theatrical presentation system.

Third: The Importance of Research

The importance of the research is derived from:

1- Improving the mechanisms for building the theatrical performance of teachers, educational supervisors, and directors.

2- Opening new horizons for subsequent studies dealing with creativity in educational performing arts.

3- Highlighting creative thinking as an essential input for the development of educational theater performances.

Fourth: Research Limits

Time Limit: 2017-2018

Spatial Limit: (School Activity Hall) in Wasit Governorate

Objective Limit: Creative Thinking in Building the Theatrical Presentation System Educational Theater Performances as a Model

Fifth: Defining Terms

Creativity is a word derived from the verb "innovate", i.e., the invention of a thing. Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, i.e., the creator of them, and the poet is the creator of the heavens and the poet, i.e., he came with a novelty, and something (bid'ah) by breaking it, i.e., an innovator, and so-and-so (bid'ah) in this matter, i.e., a bid'ah, and from this the words of the Almighty: "Say, 'I was not one of the Messengers'" (al-Ahqaf, 9). [1]

Creative Thinking

He defined it as "the ability of the individual to produce a product characterized by the greatest degree of intellectual fluency, spontaneous flexibility, originality, and far-reaching repercussions, as a response to a problem or an exciting situation" [2] and defined as "a complex and purposeful mental activity driven by a strong desire to search for solutions or reach original outcomes that were not previously known. Farida." [3]

System is a language: a word derived from the verb system, and it is defined as the systems of pearls, which are gathered in the wire, and organized in an organization, like it, including the systems of poetry, its systems, the system, the thread by which the pearls are organized (a system), and systems of pearls, which is originally a source (system), and systems, patterns. [4]

The system is a terminology: the alignment of relations that are described only by one of them, and do not appear alone and are influenced by those adjacent to them, and it is in many forms, we find it tribal organized by ideology and environment, or we find it founded by a will, which begins individually and ends collectively, and the system is not without arbitrariness, some of which is positive and represents the necessity in the relativity of its reality. [5]

Chapter Two

First Topic: Creative Thinking:

Creative thinking has been one of the higher ways of thinking that enables people to go beyond the ordinary and produce new ideas that are original, flexible, and able to solve problems in unconventional ways. Creative thinking is not only an individual mental activity, but a complex process in which experience, knowledge, imagination, and the ability to reorganize existing elements into new, meaningful, and valuable forms are intertwined. From this point of view, creative thinking has become a basic requirement in various scientific, artistic, and educational fields, due to its active role in keeping pace with cognitive transformations.

1- Fluency: It means the ability to produce the largest number of creative ideas, as a creative person is a superior person in terms of the number of ideas they propose on a certain topic in a fixed unit of time compared to others (Abdul Sattar, 1978, p. 21)

2- Flexibility: It means the ability to change the angle of view of the subject that is being discussed, and this function seems in its simplest and most fluid form in children's games when they turn a chair or a broomstick into a horse to ride or a motorcycle with which they race among themselves. [6]

3- Originality: It means the ability to generate new ideas, or an expression of a tendency that reflects the ability to penetrate beyond the clear, direct, and familiar ideas, which is individuality or excellence in thinking, ability, and novelty. [7]

4- Collectively, they represent the foundation that enables an individual to produce diverse and innovative ideas and respond effectively to different situations. In the context of educational theater, these components are of particular importance due to the nature of this type of theater, which combines the educational goal with the artistic construction, and requires a high ability to innovate in addressing educational topics and presenting them attractively and effectively.

Fluency in educational theater is represented by the ability of those in charge of theatrical performances to generate a large number of ideas and creative solutions when constructing the theatrical text or during the production and execution. Educational theater is not limited to a single idea or a stereotypical treatment of the subject. Still, it needs a variety of dramatic situations, dialogue, symbols, and expressive media that serve the educational goal. Fluency enriches the theatrical performance, and gives the director, the author, and the actor multiple options that enable them to choose the most suitable for the recipient and their age and cognitive characteristics. Flexibility is reflected in the ability of the theater system in the educational theater to adapt to different variables, whether educational, artistic, or circumstantial. This is reflected in the adaptability of the text, the variety of directorial styles, and the ability of the actors to consciously improvise and interact with the audience. Flexibility also allows for changing the presentation methods to suit the presentation environment and its capabilities, and to the needs and levels of the learners, which enhances the effectiveness of the educational message and makes the presentation more vibrant and interactive. Originality represents the essence of creativity in educational theater, as it reflects the ability of the theater show to present unfamiliar ideas and visions, and to move away from imitation and reproduction. Originality is embodied in the creation of new dramatic treatments of educational issues and the use of theatrical elements in unconventional methods, such as symbolic scenography, creative character building, or creatively involving the recipient in the theatrical event. Authenticity contributes to giving an aesthetic and intellectual value to the show and makes the theatrical experience more impactful and profound for the audience. Thus, the integration of fluency, flexibility, and originality in educational theater performances contributes to building a creative theater performance system capable of achieving its educational and artistic goals, while at the same time providing an artistic experience that stimulates the learner's imagination and develops their creative and critical thinking.

1- Natural Theory: One of the most prominent figures of this theory is Plato, who linked creativity to nature, as he believes that creativity is the inspiration caused by an extra-divine force that causes its existence, then came Aristotle, who linked creativity to productivity subject to the laws of nature, where some products occur automatically, and one of the supporters of this theory was also the one who emphasized that there is a sign between creativity, talent and genius, and this is considered a natural distinction.

2- Physiological Theory: Creativity, according to this theory, is explained based on physiological psychology, and this science is concerned with the study of the physiological foundations of human behavior, and is concerned with the study of the nervous system and its various functions. [8]

3- In his explanation of the phenomenon of creativity after studying it from 1962 to 1975, Nouri Jaafar believes that it has been proven that the defense of man is unique in the existence of special brain regions in which even the finest animals, including the great apes that are close to him, in the ladder of biological development called (triangular brain regions), whose neurons are located in the first upper cerebral layer, and that these triple brain regions in which neurons are distributed in the form of groups or masses that differ from each other in terms of quantity and In terms of the psychological functions that each of them exercises. [9]

4- Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, explains creativity according to the concept of transcendence, i.e., that sexual motivation is exalted when it is repressed and conflicted with a set of social controls and pressures, and this motivation is therefore directed to a socially acceptable motivation and then transcends towards goals and positions of positive social value. [10]

The proponents of this theory believe that creativity arises during the psychological conflict that begins from the first days of the individual's life. It serves as a defensive trick to confront the lipid energies that society does not accept to express, as creativity is only the result of the conflict that occurs between the instinctive contents of sexual and aggressive instincts on the one hand, and the controls and demands of society on the other hand [11].

Coppet asserts that the creative process is the product of pre-conscious activity: "The conscious can provoke and provoke, while consciousness improvises, evaluates, and criticizes... He does not negate the role of consciousness in the final stage of creative outputs, thus pointing out that the processes of the unconscious give the pre-consciousness rigidity and formation, and to a greater extent than consciousness does, by being deeply connected to conflicts and conflicting motives. (Roshka, 1988, pp. 24-25)

Adler explains creativity based on the feeling of an inferiority complex, especially an organic deficiency, which pushes the creator to courageously confront this feeling of inferiority through the process of compensation that leads to excellence. [12]

5- Behavioral Theory

This theory appeared in the realm of the behavioral trend, where Krobelli says that the representatives of this theory tried to study the phenomenon of creativity according to the basic lines of their orientation, which assumes that human activity or behavior is in essence the problem of forming the relationship between stimuli and responses, knowing that this relationship in terms of its mechanism is still unclear and unagreed upon even by its representatives. Krupli notes that the study of creativity based on stimulus and response appears to be ineffective because it neglects the individual as an important element. (Roshka, 1989, p. 24)

Behavioral theory interprets it as a learned behavior that is influenced by reinforcement and the environment, while psychoanalytic theory sees it as an expression of unconscious motivations and conflicts. While physiological theory interprets it as a result of the activity of the brain and nervous system, natural theory considers it to be an innate ability with which humans are born and nurtured.

Second Topic: Theatrical Presentation System

The theatrical performance is one of the composite arts that work together in a system that harmonizes with each other to help produce the theatrical work. For the success of the theatrical work, it does not depend only on the success of the text, because writing alone is deaf, but also depends on elements such as directing, acting, scenography, music, and the audience to produce an integrated artistic and philosophical experience if these elements fit and harmonize with each other. "The word "the art of directing" is a compound of two words, in which the word "art" refers to that it depends on creativity, workmanship, and craftsmanship, and the word "directing" refers to a process that relies on composition and composition to accomplish a general composition, and thus combines the creative process with the formative process, which is more of an applied work than a theoretical one. It has the complete picture" [13]

It is worth noting that theorizing began when the theatrical performances began, so art starts from the embodiment of the idea creatively, and the theatrical elements unite under the director's philosophical vision to form the text of the show, i.e. the final vision of the theatrical presentation practically formulated by the director, through the process of embodiment, which consists and is composed of visual and auditory elements and components in which the intellectual and aesthetic dimensions are balanced. Knowledge and theatrical directing are not a mechanical process. Still, it is the discovery, innovation, and renewal of the artistic vision at the theatrical levels of text and presentation. Directing is an embodied interaction between the vision and the laws of reality that would produce knowledge and aesthetic dimensions. In the end, the director is the creator of the final vision in the theatrical discourse. Since theater is an art characterized by its relationship with all civilizational variables, all directors sought to renew the directorial treatments according to their aesthetic visions. One of the most important qualities of a theater director is that he is widely acquainted with various political, social, historical, economic, and environmental sciences, as well as his academic scientific specialization and full knowledge of the various theater arts and other arts that contribute to the formation of the theatrical performance, such as plastic arts, music, and architecture, as well as the director's administrative competence and fertile imagination that would support his directorial visions. [14]

Alexander Dean also proposes five basic elements for directing the play, which are: [15]

1- Composition and composition

2- Photography

3- Movement.

4- Rhythm.

The fact that the theater director is the one who organizes these elements is because he carries with him the comprehensive culture of the idea of the text, its dimensions, and its interpretation for the actors to know their dramatic role. As for acting, Alexander Bakshi identified two directions in theatrical production related to all aspects of the show, and these two directions were represented by

1- Dramatic, which relies on the representation of life on stage with various factors of illusion.

2- Presenter: which relies on presenting a staged image of life on stage without the use of illusions.

3- There is a third trend that combines the two directions. [16]

The acting direction is concerned with searching for the dimensions of the dramatic character and mastering them according to the vocal and physical performance and the general atmosphere of the theatrical work, while the presentation direction includes a non-illusional acting performance to make the recipient a thinker who does not identify with emotions, and this is what the presentation performance of the recipient is stripped of. Acting is "A QUIET OR EMOTIONAL ATTEMPT BY WHICH A PERSON CAN FIND A SUITABLE PLACE IN LIFE THROUGH HIS EXPERIENCES TO SATISFY HIS NEEDS. WHETHER NATURAL OR PHILOSOPHICAL, IT IS ALSO HIS METHOD OF ADAPTING THE INTERNAL IMPULSES THAT WORK IN HIS OWN SOUL" [17]

HENCE, WE FIND THAT CREATIVE THINKING IS CLOSELY RELATED TO CREATIVE THINKING BECAUSE THE ACTOR DEALS WITH THE CHARACTER HE WANTS TO REPRESENT AND FACES PROBLEMS IN DIFFERENT AND VARIED WAYS, AND THROUGH ACTING, A GREATER NUMBER OF IDEAS CAN BE GENERATED WHEN RESPONDING TO AN ARTISTIC ACTIVITY OR EDUCATIONAL SITUATION. "Acting is then a training in the real thing to deduce and ascertain the secrets that this reality can entail, and at the same time it is a lesson that can be used to supplement man's knowledge of the things that will face him in the future" [18]. Scenography is defined as "the art of forming the exhibition space and the spectacular image in the theater, opera, ballet, circus, and other various fields" [19] and the scenography means the elements of the show organized together by the director and his distribution of the roles of both the décor designer, the costume and the actor, scenography can be considered as a process of adaptation to other arts (formation, architecture, landscapes, costumes, makeup, lighting, colors, and sound) in the theatrical performance. Scenography is also defined, according to the definition of (Kamal Eid), as the graphical line of the theatrical theatrical spectacle, literally, and as an expression, it means the philosophy of theoristic, which examines the nature of everything on the stage and the requirements and aids that accompany the art of theatrical acting, which ultimately work to highlight the theatrical performance in a beautiful, complete, harmonious and dazzling way in front of the audiences. (Eid: 1998, p. 5) Scenography relies on symbol and creative thinking alone because it shows the extent to which it is embodied by the designer of the décor, costumes and colored lighting have an effective effect on the stage because of the process of reflecting the colors of its rays on the décor, which is painted with pigments of multiple colors ranging from the degrees of heat saturation of the same color, these colors are subject to painting as needed to build the shape of the semantic compound that indicates the time, place and environment in which the events took place. [20] and by overlaying the elements of the show, it produces for us a creative art that is manifested in the image of the scene, only without resorting to dialogue, which is a luxury element for these elements. There is a close connection in the relationship between music and light; it is based on the support of the light sign with music that evokes the same feeling in the receiver, as the cold lighting is accompanied by sad melodies, which in turn produces a unified sign that indicates the general atmosphere, confirms the dramatic act, and indicates its true dimensions. Still, if the light sign contradicts the music, it will produce another meaning, contrasting the shape of the two marks. [20]

The third topic: Educational Theater

Educational theater is one of the contemporary educational methods that seeks to go beyond traditional methods of education by employing theater art as an effective educational tool within the educational environment. This type of theater provides an interactive space that enables the learner to learn through direct experience and positive participation, instead of relying on the negative reception of information. Educational theater relies on various dramatic elements, such as acting, dialogue, and movement, which contribute to bringing educational concepts closer and developing cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of education. Educated people are defined as "a theatrical activity employed in the educational field to achieve educational and educational goals" (Elias: 1997, p. 138) so that education is an essential part of educational theater and the educational dimension of the ancient theater differs according to the pillars of thought in different times, as theater was considered among the forms of expression to a large extent, especially in religious beliefs, so we find that "the ancient Greek theater has an educational dimension because it aimed to educate the good citizen in the fledgling city in the fifth century BC. The concept of purification in tragedy, which is one of the fundamentals of Greek theatre, is inseparable from this guiding theatre. Comedy was also in a way aimed at education with enjoyment" [21] that the economic, artistic and cultural manifestations belong to that civilization and the use of tragedy as an expressive form that carries a character and significance as it is related to rituals, and then comedy plays appeared, which are an extension of tragic plays, and it is common knowledge that theater does not present an act devoid of meaning, as there is necessarily an educational element and a goal to be reached through it, and every theatrical work carries within it a goal that is intended to be reached And a value that he instills in the recipient because the educational theater is a discipline whose purpose is to instill moral value. The aesthetics of educational theater play a prominent role in influencing traditional rules, as educational drama works in creating an aesthetic image in an educational form that contains a goal in a suggestive way through which the recipient rides the sequence of events with an imaginary pictorial dimension, and educational drama can be "character development and facilitating learning for participants, and its purpose is not to prepare professional actors. As well as interacting with the students participating in the imaginary state play. The recipient here is a bath and a receiver at the same moment because he personally participates in the event in order to overcome his self-awareness, because the recipient in this activity is the subject of the educational process without observation or stare by the other because it is directed towards the comprehensive development of the recipient" [22], where "any theater that aims to educate its audience by inviting them to think about a problem and to understand a situation, or to adopt a moral or political position" [23] and that it is "an activity within the educational activities decided by the Ministry of Education, which makes it a special department to supervise it centrally, which is the Department of Cultural and Artistic Activities, where it supervises schools with the intention of achieving educational goals set by the Ministry through the activities of the students and directing the educational theater for them" [24] because this theater has come with intellectual visions. It has become a creative organization that attracts spectators from creative intellectual workers and young people with its educational content that contributes to the establishment of educational economic thought by addressing the human mind and inviting it to think through educational theater. Perhaps one of the most prominent directors who crystallized the concept of educational theater is the playwright (Berthold Brecht), who was able to create an educational school from the theater of an educational school. He adopted this approach during the period of the economic crisis, which was considered a motivation in which Brecht formed his most important educational plays between 1929 and 1933 [25] and that educational plays are an important stage in the development of Brecht's theater, which "emerged from the question of the purpose of theater in achieving pleasure or education, and later crystallized into the form of epic and dialectical theater. [26] In other words, the educational play was born from the economic, social, political, and cultural conditions that prevailed in the era and were written through the Marxist foundations that Brecht was imbued with. These plays helped to change the individual's conviction and the development of thought. It pushes the recipient to think about his reality, history, and issues that preoccupy him as a human being, and to confront the system of norms and customs that limit the intellectual abilities of the recipient and make him an active participant in what he sees on stage, through the combination of the word, music, and image.

Indicators of the Theoretical Framework:

Creative thinking in building an educational theater show starts from being a mental and artistic process that aims to reorganize the elements of the show in order to achieve educational and aesthetic goals at the same time. This thinking is not based on the repetition of ready-made forms, but rather on the search for new forms of expression that are appropriate to the nature of the recipient and the specificity of the educational context.

1- Reinterpreting the dramatic material, where the theatrical text is not seen as closed material, but as a starting point for the production of new connotations. This indicator is embodied in a play, When the Blood is Pronounced, which does not rely on a direct re-presentation of the historical event, but rather reconstructs it through a psychological and moral perspective that opens the way for reflection and analysis.

2- Creative thinking emerges through the interactive relationship between the elements of theatrical performance, as acting, directing, or scenography do not function as separate elements, but as an integrated system that collectively produces meaning. This integration is one of the main pillars of educational theater, as it contributes to directing the recipient towards the educational idea through the artistic experience.

3- Educational theater seeks to involve the recipient mentally in building the signification, rather than sufficing with its role as a negative future. Creative thinking here relies on a presentation that provokes questions and stimulates reflection, which is reflected in the play's internal conflict.

4- Reliance on symbolism and abstraction is another indicator of creative thinking, as this method allows for transcending directness and preaching, and opens the way for imagination and multiple interpretation, which is in line with educational goals aimed at developing awareness rather than indoctrinating information.

Chapter Three: Research Procedures

First: Research Community

The research population consists of (5) theatrical performances that were presented at the School Activity Hall Theater in Wasit Governorate during the period (2017-2018) and are shown in the table below.

Firstly: Research Sample

The research sample included one presentation that was selected intentionally.

Third: Research Methodology

The researcher adopted the descriptive method to analyze the research sample as the appropriate method to serve the purposes of the research and achieve its goal.

Research Tool: The adoption of the indicators resulting from the theoretical framework also played a role in highlighting the research objectives.

Fourth: Sample Model Analysis

Name of the play: When the blood is pronounced

Author: Munawar Nahed Al-Khayat

Director: Mohamed Abdel Kazem

Year: 2017

The story of the play: The play dealt with the incident of Atif mainly because it is a simulation of history with a vision and in a modern way because it mixed historical events and realities with a contemporary reality, so it dealt with the Hussaini cause and its eternal epic because of the great monitoring of the various events and personalities that highlighted the conflict within this battle, through which it showed the set of educational aesthetic values carrying the principles and educational values carried by the message of Hussain (peace be upon him) with a ritual character that carries the Hussaini rituals and emphasizing the rejection of injustice and the spirit of the revolution against tyrants. The internal conflict that dominated the character of Al-Shammar and the fear that remains with him after he killed Hussein (peace be upon him) in a narrative way through the character of the narrator, who was employed with a contemporary vision, so the play depicted the contradictions that were resulting from the conflicts of society and the result of greed that dominates the souls of some people, as it highlights all forms of injustice and the extent to which Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) defended Islam with that incident and his martyrdom to raise the word of truth in every time and place.

Analysis

The play When the Blood is Pronounced by the writer Munawar Nahed Al-Khayyat is considered a model of a dramatic text that relies more on psychological and intellectual structure than on the event act, which gives it a high employability in the development of creative thinking, whether at the level of acting performance, directorial vision, or scenography, as well as its potential in the field of educational theater. From a scenography point of view, the text is based on an unrealistic theatrical space, closer to the mental or psychological space, which prompts the adoption of creative scenography solutions based on abstraction and reductionism. The absence of a specific historical place frees the designer from the commitment to realism and opens the way for the use of symbol, space, and light as semantic tools. This type of scenography develops creative thinking in theatrical learners or practitioners, as it requires them to redefine the relationship between form and meaning, and to search for visual alternatives that express the psychological state instead of literally representing the event. This approach also intersects with the goals of educational theater, which seeks to develop imagination and the ability to interpret, rather than sufficing with visual consumption. On the directorial level, the text imposes a directorial vision based on managing the character's internal conflict rather than managing the external conflict. This style of directing is a fertile field for creative thinking, as it requires the director to find unconventional solutions to build the dramatic rhythm, regulate movement, and employ silence and emptiness as active elements in theatrical discourse. Directing here does not depend on the escalation of events, but on the escalation of awareness, which is in line with the philosophy of educational theater, which focuses on developing contemplative and critical thinking in the recipient, by asking questions instead of providing ready-made answers. In terms of acting performance, the play When Blood is Spoken requires an internal acting style based on psychological awareness of the character, emotional control, and the ability to express indirectly. This type of performance contributes to the development of the actor's creative thinking, because it makes him a partner in the production of meaning, not just an outlet for the text. The adoption of the body, voice, and silence as primary means of expression is in line with the goals of the educational theater, which uses acting as a tool to develop self-awareness, the ability to express oneself, and understand the other. The educational dimension of the text is highlighted through its dialogical nature based on moral questioning, where it confronts the recipient with issues related to responsibility, obedience, choice, and human conscience. These issues constitute an important input to the use of text in education, as it can be used in educational drama activities such as role-playing, character analysis, and reconstructing scenes from different angles. In this way, the text is transformed from an artistic material into an educational tool that contributes to the development of creative thinking, critical thinking, and value awareness. The integration of abstract scenography, psychological directorial vision, and internal acting performance in When Blood is Pronounced makes it a viable text in the contexts of educational theater, where the goal is not limited to presenting a theatrical performance, but also to building an educational experience based on interaction and reflection. Thus, it can be said that the play represents a clear example of the ability of the contemporary theatrical text to contribute to the development of creative thinking by activating the imagination, stimulating questioning, and linking art to the human and educational dimension.

Chapter Four:

Research Results

1- Texts based on psychological conflict have a greater ability to stimulate contemplative thinking than texts that rely on direct external events.

2- The use of abstract theatrical space contributes to expanding the horizon of the receiver's imagination. It allows him to link the theatrical image with intellectual significance, which enhances the effectiveness of the educational presentation. The results also showed that the directorial vision, which relies on the internal rhythm and the gradation of psychological tension, creates a state of mental interaction in the recipient and is in harmony with the nature of educational theater, which aims to build creative thinking.

3- Acting performances based on internal expression and emotion control contribute to the indirect delivery of human values, and the performance avoids falling into the preaching discourse, which enhances the educational impact of the theatrical work.

Conclusions

1- Creative thinking is a fundamental pillar in building the educational theatrical presentation system, and it can only be achieved through artistic awareness capable of employing the elements of the show in a way that serves the educational idea.

2- Theatrical performances that rely on symbolism and abstraction are more able to develop the creative thinking of the recipient, because they stimulate the recipient to participate mentally in the production of meaning.

3- The integration between acting, directing, and scenography contributes to presenting an educational theatrical model that combines the aesthetic dimension and the value dimension, without prejudice to either of them.

4- The study concludes that educational theater, when built on creative foundations, transforms from a means of presentation into an intellectual and educational tool that contributes to building the human and critical awareness of the recipient.