My Anecdotal Life
My Anecdotal Life is a first-person narrative podcast miniseries that invites listeners into the world of Granville Wyche Burgess through his family stories, personal history, misadventures, struggles, and triumphs.
Sometimes wonderful, sometimes awkward, and always dramatic, these stories trace Granville’s journey from boyhood in the 1950s American South to making his way in the wider world, and the lessons he did — and did not — learn. Funny, heartfelt, and deeply personal, the series showcases Granville’s gift for storytelling and the wit, wisdom, and candor that define his life.
Written and performed by Granville Wyche Burgess
Directed by Andrea Lynn Green
Recorded and edited by Dexter Frisch in Andrew's Studio, Greenwich, CT
Mastered by Matthew Scott Johnston
Special thanks to Theatre Artists Workshop
Episodes
Sep 1, 2026
Sep 1, 2026
7 min
Meet Granville Wyche Burgess and get a first taste of My Anecdotal Life, a new narrative podcast filled with family stories, personal history, misadventures, close calls, and a few lessons picked up along the way.
In this sneak peek, Granville introduces himself, explains how he came by his rather unusual name, and offers a taste of his first story, “My Life in Crime,” featuring an ill-advised teenage detour into criminality.
The stories begin September 15.
11 hours ago
11 hours ago
16 min
Welcome to My Anecdotal Life, a collection of true stories from the life of Granville Wyche Burgess—writer, actor, director, teacher, producer, and storyteller. Told in Granville’s own words, these are some of the people, places, mishaps, adventures, and unexpected turns that have shaped his life.
And where better to begin than at the beginning, with a name?
What’s in a name? Well, if it happens to be Granville Wyche Burgess, plenty, including some interesting ancestry and a few colorful nicknames as you'll hear in his introduction.
Later in the episode, you'll hear how an innocent game of bowling spirals into a teenage moral dilemma involving friendship, familial duty, and a brush with the law. Travel the South Carolina highways as a trembling young Granville must choose between loyalty to a friend, obedience to the law, and the expectations of his Baptist lawyer father.
About Granville
Mr. Burgess is a playwright, director, actor, producer, lyricist, composer, teacher, and author with over fifty years professional experience. His plays and musicals have appeared Off-Broadway and regionally. His teleplays have appeared on PBS and in syndication, and he was a staff writer for the soap opera CAPITOL (EMMY nom.) He is the author of two screenplays and a book of short stories for children. He has directed, produced, or acted in over eighty plays and musicals. Some of his plays include: THE FREAK (published by Samuel French); PLAY IT AS IT LIES (published by Playscripts); CLOSETS; DUSKY SALLY (published by Broadway Play Publishing); THE DEATH OF DRACULA; and the ten-minute plays CHEESECAKE PROPOSAL and FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS. His musicals include: A COUNTRY CAROL (book/music/lyrics), an adaptation of “A Christmas Carol”; CONRACK (book/lyrics), based on the Pat Conroy novel “The Water Is Wide” (www.conrackthemusical.com); ON TO OKLAHOMA (book/lyrics), an outdoor drama about the Oklahoma Land Run; BATTLECRY (book/lyrics) about the Battle of Gettysburg; COMMON GROUND about the relationship between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln; and six Mr. History Musicals for youth about American history. His three novels have all been published by Chickadee Prince Books: THE LAST AT-BAT OF SHOELESS JOE, about the iconic baseball player and two Amish romance-mysteries, STONE IN THE CRICK and FORK IN THE CRICK. He created a choral composition of “The Gettysburg Address,“ premiered by the Greenwich Choral Society for its 100th Anniversary Celebration.
Awards and Grants include: An EMMY nomination (Outstanding Achievement, TV/Serial), 4 first-place finishes in playwriting competitions, including the Drama League of New York Best New Play, runner-up in the CBS/Foundation of the Dramatist Guild Playwriting Competition; and grants from The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2 times), and the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Education.
He is Co-Founder and President/CEO of Quill Entertainment Company, a nonprofit educational organization that creates and produces original history musicals (www.quillentertainment.org). To date, Quill has entertained and educated over 40,000 teachers, students, and families.
Mr. Burgess was Director of the Walnut Street Theatre School for seven years and has taught playwriting, screenwriting, directing, and acting at The Wilma Theatre, Widener University, The Academy of Vocal Arts, Trinity College, The University of Central Oklahoma, The Tower Hill School, Arcadia University, and Westtown School.
He is a graduate with honors of the Phillips Exeter Academy (1965), a graduate of Princeton University with a magna cum laude in History (1969), and an MFA graduate in Directing of The Catholic University of America (1974).
Mr. Burgess was born in Greenville, South Carolina. He has two daughters and two step-children and currently resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife, Reba Beeson, a lawyer who was raised Amish/Mennonite on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Professional organizations: The Dramatists Guild, The Writers Guild of America/East, The Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity Association, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop, and Theatre Artists Workshop.
Credits
Written and performed by Granville Wyche Burgess
Directed by Andrea Lynn Green
Recorded and edited by Dexter Frisch in Andrew's Studio, Greenwich, CT
Mastered by Matthew Scott Johnston
Special thanks to Theatre Artists Workshop