The Residency at the St. Pete Micro Farm. A long-term creative immersion program for serious artists — St. Petersburg, Florida (Expected Winter 2026)

I want to tell you about something I've been building toward for a long time.

Not the physical structure — though that's coming, and I'm genuinely excited about it. I'm talking about the idea. The seed of it was planted years ago, and it's been growing ever since, the way the best ideas do: quietly, persistently, until one day you look up and realize it's time to actually build the thing.

What I'm building is called The Residency. It's a long-term creative immersion program based right here at the St. Pete Micro Farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. And if you are a serious artist — a performer, a magician, a singer, a writer, a variety entertainer, a visual artist, or any kind of creative who is hungry to accelerate their development and do it in real community — I want you to keep reading.

Because this might be exactly what you've been looking for without knowing it had a name.

Where This Idea Came From

Years ago, I attended a two-week intensive at the Celebration Barn Theater in Maine. I worked with Avner Eisenberg — Avner the Eccentric — one of the most brilliant physical performers alive. It was one of the most transformative creative experiences of my life.

I came away from those two weeks genuinely changed as a performer. Not because Avner handed me some magic formula, but because of what happens when you put serious artists together in an immersive environment with a great teacher and give everyone permission to go deep. Things happen in that container that simply cannot happen in a weekend workshop or a Zoom call. You develop faster. You see yourself more clearly. You get braver.

My only regret about that Celebration Barn experience? That I didn't do it earlier in my career. I've been thinking about that ever since.

The other seed was planted during my years performing on cruise ships. Every time we docked in Key West, I'd pass by an artists' residency house down there — painters and poets, a creative community living and working together. It wasn't a variety performance space. It wasn't built for my world. But the idea of it lit something up in me. That image of artists in community, accelerating each other, being exposed to possibilities they never would have found alone — I filed that away and never let it go.

Those two experiences, plus two decades of performing in 80+ countries and watching what separates artists who break through from artists who stay stuck, crystallized into a philosophy I now teach: most of the time, the things holding us back are simply the things we don't know. And there is no faster way to overcome that than to spend time — real time, not an afternoon — breaking bread with other people who are on the same path.

The Proof Is Already Here

I don't have to theorize about whether this works. I'm watching it work right now.

Noah Royak has been living and working on-site here at the Micro Farm for the past five years. In that time, his show has absolutely exploded. He went from a talented performer with potential to one of the most compelling acts I know — and I've seen a lot of acts.

Is that entirely because of the residency environment? Of course not. Noah puts in the work. He has the talent and the drive. But the environment matters enormously. Every day, he gets a dose of performer philosophy, good life theory, and practical creative thinking just by being here. When he hits a wall with something in his show, he doesn't have to wait for a scheduled coaching call — he can walk over and talk it through. When he needs a new prop, we go into the prop shop and build it together. When a last-minute contract came in that required a brand new show, we sat down and cranked it out.

That kind of access — not 24/7, not on demand at every moment, but genuinely available because we share the same space and I love this work — is something you simply cannot replicate over the internet. It changes the pace of development in a way that is hard to describe until you've experienced it.

Noah's success is one of the reasons I'm building a second unit. The model works. It's time to open it up.

What The Residency Actually Is

The Residency is a long-term creative immersion program based at the St. Pete Micro Farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. A new standalone unit is currently under construction and expected to be complete in late 2026.

The space itself will be small (120sq ft) but mighty. and will include a private bedroom and sleeping area, access to a kitchenette, bathroom, outdoor garden access, high-speed internet, and parking. It's intimate, creative, and has a vibe that is very much its own thing. This is not an Airbnb. It's not a hotel. It's a living creative environment.

Minimum stay is six months, though I want to be honest with you: some of the most meaningful residencies happen over years, not months. Noah is proof of that. If the program is successful — and I expect it will be — we hope to expand in the future.

Monthly cost is expected to be in the $1,500 range, depending on the situation. For context: you're not just renting a room. You're buying proximity to an environment, a community, and a level of access that would cost many times that in a traditional coaching arrangement.

What's Included

Let me be clear about what this is and what it isn't, because I think honesty here matters more than a polished sales pitch.

What you get is access to a working artist, coach, and art-trepreneur who has spent over two decades building a life in this industry. That means conversations happen naturally — over coffee, between chores, when you're stuck and need to think out loud. I live here. I'm around. And I genuinely enjoy talking shop.

The prop shop is available with me present. If you need to build something — a prop, a piece of staging, a new element for your act — I'm happy to be in there working with you. It's not a tool library you can wander into on your own, but as a collaborative resource it's genuinely powerful. Some of the best creative breakthroughs happen when you're building something with your hands.

Show development is available on an as-needed basis. I'm not going to drop everything at a moment's notice every time something comes up — but I'm here, I love this work, and helping residents develop their material is absolutely part of what the program offers. Think of it less like a scheduled service and more like having a very capable, very invested neighbor who happens to be really good at this.

There's a yoga deck on site, and mindfulness and yoga practice are woven into the culture here. Yoga students and teachers are especially welcome — the practice is part of the philosophy of the place.

You'll also be in community with Noah and any other residents — serious working artists who are on their own development journeys. That community is, in my experience, one of the most underrated accelerators available to any creative.

And yes, there are chickens. A wonderful, friendly flock who are as much a part of the character of this place as anything else. They will become part of your life here, and most people find that unexpectedly delightful.

Yes, There Are Chores, And That's The Point.

Every resident is expected to choose a chore and do it consistently. This isn't punitive — it's philosophical.

We're talking about things like clearing the pathways with a blower twice a month, emptying trash cans around the property, cleaning the chicken coop once a month, weed whacking the parkway and alleyway. Real farm tasks. Nothing that will consume your creative life, but enough to make you an active participant in the grounds as well as the program.

Why does this matter? Because there is something genuinely important about tending the place you live in. It builds ownership, presence, and humility — three qualities that make better artists. And because a community that shares responsibility for its environment is a healthier, more honest, more generative community. The chores are part of the program, not separate from it.

A Note on Abundance

One of the things I love most about living and working on this farm is what it has taught me about abundance — and why I think that lesson is so important for artists specifically.

When you first plant a garden, you pour everything into it. Water, fertilizer, time, attention, faith. And for a while, it gives you nothing back. Then one day, it starts producing food. The next year, it produces more. The year after that, you have more than you can eat, and you find yourself giving it away to everyone around you.

That experience — of genuine overflow, of having more than you need — is one of the rarest feelings available in modern life. Our entire economic system is built on the idea of scarcity, because scarcity drives prices and creates the perception of value. But abundance is actually possible. In a garden. In a performance career. In an artistic life built with intention and patience.

The Residency is built on this belief. You come here, you invest the time, you do the work, you participate in the community — and then one day, something tips. Your show clicks. Your bookings multiply. Your income grows past what you thought was your ceiling. That's not magic. That's what happens when you plant the right things and tend them consistently.

Who This Is For

The Residency is for serious creatives. I mean that warmly but genuinely — this is not a vacation, and it is not for someone who is dabbling. It is for performers, magicians, singers, musicians, writers, variety artists, visual artists, and multi-hyphenate creatives who are committed to their craft and ready to pour real time and energy into developing it.

Vibe matters here. Attitude matters. We are building a community, and the people in it shape what it becomes. I am looking for residents who are collaborative, humble, hardworking, curious, and genuinely excited about being part of something larger than their own career.

There will be an application and interview process. References and a portfolio are helpful. A clear sense of your artistic goals is even more helpful — I want to know what you're working toward and why this environment might be the right place to do it.

Pets are considered on a case-by-case basis. Fair warning: we have chickens, and their wellbeing is a priority here. Dogs that are well-behaved and chicken-friendly might be workable. Dogs that are not probably aren't the right fit. Having a pet doesn't disqualify you — it just means we need to have an honest conversation about it.

How to Get on the List

The structure is expected to be complete in late 2026. So I want to put together a list of interested individuals who have said: yes, this interests me, I want to know more, keep me in the loop. That allows me to reach out personally when there's a vacancy and the timing aligns. So if this resonates — even if you're not sure about the timing, even if late 2026 feels far away — I want to hear from you.

Head to mrbillberry.com and search for info about The Residency. Fill out the interest form, or reach out directly at billberryshow@gmail.com. Tell me who you are, what you're working on, and what you're hoping to build. I read every message personally.

This is a small program by design. Every person in it matters. And the list of people who want to be here is something I'm building with the same care I put into everything else at this farm: slowly, intentionally, and with the long game in mind.

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

Come grow something with us.

— Bill Berry

mrbillberry.com  |  billberryshow@gmail.com  |  @mrbillberry My mission is to provide the creative container I lacked during my own rise as an artist. After years of navigating the industry from the ground up, I’ve built this residency to give serious creatives a place to grow, develop, and accelerate their work. It is designed to be a high-value, immersive alternative to the traditional paths, built on the belief that proximity to mentorship shouldn't be a luxury, but a foundation for success. ~ Mr. Bill Berry *The Residency will be a structured creative development program with active participation requirements. All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial status.