Due to the contraction of film and television work in the United States over the past two years, starting in 2026, The PA Academy is making two bold changes.
First and foremost, we will broaden our training focus from studio and streaming feature films and television series, commercials, promos, music videos, reality, docu-series, indie features, shorts, and corporate industrials to also include live events such as music, film, and arts festivals, corporate conventions, event staging, and light stagehand work. All of these types of gig economy jobs share duties and responsibilities with entertainment industry PA work, and your ability to move seamlessly between them will grow your arsenal of skills to make you more desirable as a freelancer.
Second, we will be moving to a virtual and in-person format. Virtual classes will be offered in February and November, and in-person classes will take place in June and August for easier summer travel and student attendance. The PA Academy has been training out-of-state and international attendees for two decades, but the inability for many international students to travel to the US, along with the prohibitive cost of traveling, has left many potential students from out of state asking for a virtual option.
What does this mean to you?
If you are an aspiring PA from Georgia, we recommend you take one of the summer courses for in-person networking and hands-on training. You are more than welcome to take the virtual classes, but former Georgia-based students find that the networking aspect of the in-person workshop is incredibly valuable to their careers.
If you live in the southeast, around the country, or anywhere in the world, because the benefit of in-person networking is less important for finding work in your market, we recommend taking the February or November course held on Zoom. Virtual classes will add the use of video to reinforce hands-on training, will be less expensive, and will be shorter in length due to the nature of the virtual format, without compromising the information you need to succeed.
Start your career or improve upon your current skills in the industry with advanced knowledge and training. The PA Academy shows you what it takes to advance while preparing you for your first day on set, in your transition from a day player to a core crew member, or when working on different types of industry events. Whether you want to work as an office PA, set PA, production assistant in another department, or in live entertainment, The PA Academy teaches you everything you need to know to feel confident in your ability to do the job. But this workshop isn’t just for PAs. It’s for anyone looking to break into the entertainment business. The same protocol, terminology, and hiring practices exist no matter where you start your career. The PA Academy takes place virtually in February, inperson in June and August, and virtually again in November
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Winter 2026 (virtual): February 28th & March 1st
Spring 2026: June 6th & 7th
Summer 2026: August 8th & 9th
Fall 2026 (virtual): November 7th & 8th
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Are you a DeKalb or Gwinnett County, GA resident, or in financial hardship?
Through the wonderful support of our sponsors, the DeKalb Entertainment Commission and Film Gwinnett, we can offer 50% off scholarships for those with proof of residency in DeKalb or Gwinnett for our June and August sessions. We also offer Financial Hardship Scholarships to support Georgia residents needing assistance.
Click on the upcoming class of your interest below to learn more and apply.
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Former Producer Linda Burns runs The PA Academy with the help of Georgia’s amazing crew members who are working full-time in all aspects of the entertainment industry. Each workshop offers a fresh and unique perspective to the students, with an ever-changing group of instructors and guest speakers. For questions regarding this workshop, go to The PA Academy website or contact Linda with PA ACADEMY in the subject line. For more information, visit Linda Burns's Instructor Page.
Upcoming PA academy’s:
Testimonials
“Truly, thank you for the experience at the PA Academy! The class only motivated me more to pursue my dream, and I found it to be very rewarding in terms of lessons learned and connections made.”
“The PA Academy has been the highlight of my year.”
“I found both days of PA Academy incredibly useful and your insights were applicable to life in general. Never too old to learn or be reminded of important things! So much wisdom from the speakers, too. I look forward to building on the weekend’s foundation and continuing this learning experience.”
“Thank you again for teaching this course. It was so informational, fun, and got me closer to the industry that seemed more like a distant planet. Thank you again for teaching me.”
“I feel better prepared and even MORE excited to further my career in the film industry!”
“I genuinely learned a lot, and I’m ready to take the skills I’ve acquired and apply them on sets in New York, where I’m currently based.”
“As a student, it’s not often I get the chance to hear from successful industry professionals, so I really got a lot out of it. ”
“I learned a great deal from the seasoned filmmakers and gained valuable insight into the industry’s expectations. I sincerely appreciate your guidance!”
“I am thankful for getting to take notes from such a wide swath of positions and personality types. It opened my eyes to the many joys and sacrifices that are made working in our industry.”