EXPO-SCÈNE 2026 Training | grandMA3
April 13 - 16, 2026
ACT Academy: grandMA3
ACT Entertainment - Smashing Buttons Tour 2026
April 13 - 16, 2026
Palais des congrès de Montréal
Room 521c (5th floor)
Join the ACT Academy in Montréal, QC for 4 days of grandMA training!
Cliquer ici pour la version française.
The grandMA3 is MA Lighting's powerful, next-generation lighting control platform.
It features a refined user interface, advanced processing, and scalability for large-scale shows, controlling conventional, LED, and media servers through a unified software system with hardware like motorized faders, dual encoders, and touchscreens.
It offers deep customization, compatibility with grandMA2, and powerful features like "Phasers" and integrated processing units for massive parameter counts, making it a staple in entertainment lighting.
SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE IN THESE COURSES:
- 1-Day Course grandMA3 as a Second Language - USD $250, Wednesday, April 15 → Register Now!
- 90-min Course Getting to know grandMA3 - FREE, Thursday April 16 → Register Now!
FULL - WAITLIST AVAILABLE:
- 2-Day Course grandMA3 Beginner - USD $500 → add your name to the waitlist
CITT/ICTS Members: You get 20% OFF registration!
⇒ CLICK HERE for your promo code (login required)
ACT Entertainment is the exclusive North American distributor of many products, including those made by MA lighting.
Along with sales of these products, they provide service, technical support, and education. Their goal as educators is to instill an understanding of the fundamental workflow of ACT Entertainment technologies and to inspire users to evolve creatively with them.
grandMA3 classes are taught by ACT Entertainment staff, or in some cases by freelance programmers we have trained to teach our curriculum. Learn more about the ACT Academy: ACT 101: Who We Are and How We Conduct Classes
All courses are taught in English.
Note: Both paying courses are now full. If a participant withdraws, those on the waiting list will be notified by ACT Entertainment of the available spot in the order in which they registered. Add your name to the waitlist.
View schedule, course description and individual registration links below ↓
grandMA3 Beginner | 2-Day Course
Monday, April 13 + Tuesday, April 14
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM on both days
Room 521c | 5th floor
Capacity: 8
waitlist
The “grandMA3 Beginner” course is designed for those new to lighting programming. This 2-day course will cover the foundational concepts of programming lights, using the grandMA3 software platform. Class topics include software navigation and hardware layout, attribute manipulation, group selection, presets, sequences and executors, phasers, and more.
If you are already well-versed in programming another lighting console - whether grandMA2 or some other platform - you might consider taking a "grandMA3 as a Second Language" course instead of this course, and then moving on to a “grandMA3 Special Topics” course.
All registrants are strongly encouraged to complete the free grandMA3 Beginner Pretest first. If you do not score at least 85% on this test, we strongly recommend reviewing the free grandMA3 Prerequisite course before attending a grandMA3 Beginner class. The class will assume some underlying knowledge of the topics covered in the Prerequisite course, and may not have time to review all of these basics.
Note: Students will most likely be sharing a console with 1 other person.
grandMA3 as a Second Language | 1-Day Course
Wednesday, April 15
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Room 521c | 5th floor
Capacity: 8
REGISTER
The "grandMA3 as a Second Language” course is designed for experienced lighting programmers who want to become familiar with grandMA3. This 1-day fast-paced course is designed to help programmers of other consoles translate that knowledge into grandMA3 terminology, concepts, and muscle memory.
If you are not well-versed in programming any other lighting console or want a ground-up learning experience on grandMA3, we strongly recommend taking the “grandMA3 Beginner” course instead of this course, and then moving on to a “grandMA3 Special Topics” course.
Note: Students will most likely be sharing a console with 1 other person.
FREE! Getting to know grandMA3 | Registration is required
Thursday, April 16
Morning class: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Room 521c | 5th floor
Capacity: 80
REGISTER
Afternoon class: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Room 521c | 5th floor
Capacity: 80
REGISTER
ACT Academy invites you to get hands-on with the grandMA3 console! This 90-minute session will offer an overview of the grandMA3 hardware and software capabilities, how they are used in various live entertainment scenarios, as well as the core concepts behind controlling today's most complex and capable lighting fixtures. Focused on how to get from your first showfile to your first show, this session breaks down the grandMA3 platform into approachable pieces for new learners and will help put you on your own path to learning the programming skills you can build a career around.
Prerequisites (Online)
grandMA3 Prerequisite | TAKE COURSE
Topics fundamental to lighting programming and a few basics of grandMA3 navigation.
The grandMA3 Prerequisite course is designed for those new to lighting programming. This course covers topics fundamental to lighting programming such as basic fixture types and DMX, generic programming concepts such as Tracking and HTP vs. LTP, a brief introduction to grandMA3 navigation, and more.
New programmers are strongly encouraged to complete these prerequisite lessons before starting any other grandMA3 courses.
If you're not sure whether you need to go through this course, take the pretest in the first lesson. If you do not score at least 85% on this test, we strongly recommend reviewing this grandMA3 Prerequisite course before moving on to any other grandMA3 courses.
grandMA3 Beginner Pretest | TAKE TEST
Sign in is required to take the quizz.
