A curtain-call is a human-made convention in performance where performers return to the stage at the end of a show to acknowledge the audience's applause and receive recognition for their work. Parameters: (1) a performance event has concluded, (2) performers physically return to the stage front, (3) the audience applauds, (4) performers acknowledge and often bow. Persists through theatrical tradition and institutionalized practice in performance venues. [formal: curulla | substrate: behavior | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
curtain-call
A curtain-call is a human-made convention in performance where performers return to the stage at the end of a show to acknowledge the audience's applause and receive recognition for their work. Parameters: (1) a performance event has concl…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made convention in performance: performers returning to the stage at the end of a show to acknowledge the audience's applause. Built to persist through theatrical practice and institutionalized as a ritual of closure.
Names and aliases
- curtain-callen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cms550tvb00w7i9iq9x278qvfINSTANCE_OF →
curtain-call IS a specific kind of performance moment — a structured return to the stage for acknowledgment. The note pins the sense: curtain-call as a performance event/convention, not merely a gesture. Law 9: a competent speaker calls a curtain-call 'a performance' (specifically, the post-show acknowledgment performance).
- cmrcno9o500qq13vze37nqzbuINSTANCE_OF →
A curtain call is a specific kind of ritual: a prescribed ceremonial behavior that marks the end of a performance and acknowledges the audience. A competent speaker would call a curtain call a ritual. The sense pinned is the ceremonial/ritual sense, not incidental — the curtain call follows a fixed pattern of recognition between performer and audience.
- cms550tvb00w7i9iq9x278qvfSERVES →
A curtain call is maintained for the sake of performance. Its designed purpose is to complete the performance experience: to acknowledge the audience, signal the end, and create the shared moment of gratitude between performer and spectator. Remove the performance — the curtain call loses its reason for existing. The servant (curtain call) points at the master (performance).
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 28, 2026, 10:01 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 908fa6da6f1152da25ed5d382b5bb19d53d48ad1560be53252f1050101fe8bb6