<p>austinmtmom has given you some great advice and leads. I can reiterate, based on my daughter’s own experience, that local and regional theaters can be great sources for coaches. Also look at any local or regional theater alliances in your area. Very often, members list themselves as available for coaching. There are also summer intensive programs that last anywhere from 2-6 weeks that are performance based. Another great source for training. Some are run through colleges and others are in a camp like setting. Do a search for summer programs on this forum and the musical theater forum and you will find loads of discussion about summer acting programs.</p>
<p>Also, don’t allow your concerns about academics to per se rule out a college BFA program. There is a very broad spectrum among colleges with regard to the level of academics needed for admissions purposes as well as the extent to which academics play a role in the curriculum. There are some schools with excellent BFA programs where the academic criteria for admissions to the BFA program are very relaxed and schools where a student may take all of 3 classes outside of the department over the course of 4 years.</p>
<p>Take the time to do searches on this and the MT forum (acting is discussed a lot on the MT forum). And ask questions, lots of them. As austinmtmom says, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on these forums who are glad to share their knowledge.</p>