Dramaturgical context of object use in children's theatre

Children's theater cannot be discussed apart from the background of theater art from the beginning to the present and the art tendencies that guide it. The use of objects for aesthetic purposes in the performing arts has a long history. It is certain that children's theater carries this background and impressions of this history. This thesis, which consists of three chapters, attempts to discuss the concept of aesthetic dimensions of the object in children's theater by including the cognitive development of the child. In the first chapter, the most basic features of cognitive development, which directly affect the child's object perception, are tried to be revealed. In the second chapter, interactions between person and object, the relationship of object with culture are combined with the historical, anthropological, pedagogical and also sociological considerations. In this way, the story of the object from "idol" to art object is mentioned; the position of the object in the performing arts is tried to be determined by following the line of the art of theater which intersects with the modern plastic arts as well. In the last chapter, two main topics are included. In the first part, the use of the object on the stage is classified and revealed, while in the second part, the examples from children's theater are discussed in the light of knowledge of cognitive development. Consequently, the aesthetics of the use of the object in children's theater is introduced, and also the object relation with the child audience is discussed.