The reason for the term "curtain call" seems fairly obvious. One might ask why it is not a "curtain cue" if thinking it comes from "calling the cues" and calling a cue for the last curtain. However, cues aren't always called for a curtain as they often operated by backstage crew who follow a script and are among the actors. Also, the call seem to be, as suggested above, a calling from the audience to the actors. As for the words themselves, c curtain comes from the Old French word "cortine" which comes from the Late Latin "corina" meaning a round vessel or curtain comes from the Latin word "cortem" meaning an enclosure or a courtyard. Call comes from the last Middle English word "callen" which probably came from the Old Norse word "kalla" meaning to call out. It is thought hat this may have been confused with or mixed with the Old English (West Saxon) word "ceallian" meaning to shout. It is also possible that the word call came from the Middle Dutch word "kallen" meaning to talk or the Old High German word "kallôn" meaning to shout.
Today, curtain calls often consist of actors coming out and giving a bow or a curtsy as the audience claps and cheers. The reason for a curtain call seems to be two fold. Some actors love getting praise and affirmation that they did a good job and a curtain call allows for that. It also seems that, in general, audiences love to go crazy. A curtain call allows an audience to go crazy with congratulatory sounds and actions for actors. However, some actors hate curtain calls and will try to leave as soon as possible.
There was a time when curtain calls were more elaborate. The curtain call for a musical may have been a musical number at the end of the show and then the actors would turn to the audience and bow. At times, this type of thing still happens in the theatre, but it is not as common. For a straight play, each actor may have come out and given a bow or a curtsy separately if the cast was not too large.
It is also important for actors to rehearse the curtain call. It might be odd performing a curtain call in front of an empty house, but it is necessary to know how a curtain call is going to go rather than tripping over other actors in an impromptu one. Rehearsing a curtain call can also allow a director to let a cast known when he or she is pleased. The curtain call can be rehearsed and the director may want to go directly into giving notes afterwards. However, when a play is rehearsed with a curtain call and the director claps, that probably means that he or she is pleased with the performance. However, this does not mean there will not still be notes taken. This simply means that the director was pleased and there still may be more to fix in the play.
Another thing that a curtain call does is allow the audience to see the actors for themselves. The actors may come out as their characters, but they do not have to stay in character for the curtain call. The audience can watch how the actors interact with each other at this time. Actors can also decide on if they are going to bow or curtsy and their arm movements. If actors are coming out in sets or pairs, do they hold hands? It is also customary to acknowledge the technical operators and/or the orchestra after the initial bows. At times, if these positions are paid, they may not be acknowledged if the actors are not paid as the paycheck is seen as their reward. However, they are often acknowledge for the work, even if they are paid. This way the entire cast and crew feels like they did a great job.
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