This may reeeeeally label me as a newbie (why fight your type, right?)... but here's a question that I've heard a lot of different opinions on. Is it okay to use photocopied sheet music for an audition, or should you always bring the original book?

I've heard both... "never, ever use photocopies because it's illegal to copy music," as well as "always use photocopies in a binder with plastic sleeves because books are hard for the accompanist to mess with."

I usually do the latter because I also play piano and know what it's like to fight with a tightly bound book, but like I said, I'm relatively new to the professional theatre world. Is there some convention on this that I'm just unaware of?

This is a really great question- and I am sure that composers and licensors would be thrilled to know that you are so conscientious!

As far as I understand it, you are well within your rights to photocopy the music, as long as it is for your own personal use and you do not give it away. It is very similar to taking a CD you've purchased and burning it onto your computer, which is technically copying as well. However, don't try to go into a copy store to do this photocopying, because the clerks will usually come to you and tell you to stop because of copyright laws. There is no way to prove you won't give the photocopied music away, so they tend to have zero tolerance policies on this.

As far as how to prepare the music for the accompanist, there are many schools of thought on this. If you are going to use plastic sleeves (which I think are the easiest as well) I'd recommend you find the ones that are anti-glare. Sometimes the lights above the piano can create a sheen on the sleeve that makes the music difficult to read. A second option would be to tape the pages into a long row, and then fold like an accordion to store after use. The reason I prefer the sleeves over the tape method is that it is very difficult to lay out any more than 4 pages taped together on the piano. This is where the sleeves come in handy. However, taped pages would be ideal for an audition piece that is 2-3 pages because the accompanist would have no need to turn the page at all.

I hope this is useful- again, bravo to you for asking, and good luck with your auditions!