By Brett Shaw
“It’s like I tore up a shag carpet assuming there were hardwood floors underneath,” said a boy band, initially singing a song about girls’ natural beauty. “But it turned out being just dirty linoleum.”
These lyrics from the Emmy Award-winning song “Girl You Don’t Need Makeup” were cowritten by Kyle Dunnigan, a comedian and actor who will perform at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., at 8 p.m. on April 2.
The song first appeared on an episode of the popular sketch comedy show “Inside Amy Schumer,” on which Dunnigan worked as a writer and actor for three seasons.
“[Amy] has such a strong point of view,” Dunnigan said. “I learned the importance of incorporating that into what I’m doing.”
Music is an important part of Dunnigan’s life, although it rarely appears in his comedy routines. He learned most of his musical skills from listening to Billy Joel and Elton John and from playing the piano that his parents bought him as a child.
“I don’t write all that many comedy songs,” Dunnigan said. “I write mostly cheesy music that I will never allow anyone to hear.”
Throughout his comedy career, Dunnigan has been featured on various night shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”
But doing televised performances for mass audiences greatly differs from the intimate bar-setting of typical standup.
“I feel like I’m being sent to the gallows just before I go out,” said Dunnigan. “I usually think, ‘How did I get into this situation and can I get out of it?’ ”
Dunnigan also notably portrayed the iconic role of Craig on the hit show “Reno 911” on Comedy Central.
“Reno 911” is a mockumentary-style television show that ran on Comedy Central from 2003-09. Spoofing on “Cops,” the primarily improvised show humorously follows the lives of incompetent police officers as they attempt to bring ludicrous criminals to justice.
Craig was a shy man with a pathetic voice who fell in love with one of the police officers after reporting a missing snowcone. He also happened to be a notorious serial killer. Even though Craig was sentenced to lethal injection in the show, he lives on through Dunnigan’s standup routines and YouTube channel.
Dunnigan often works personas, impressions, and character voices into his comedic work. The Craig persona has actually been a part of Dunnigan’s life for many years prior to “Reno 911.”
“There’s video of me doing it at 9 years old somewhere,” he said. “I don’t know why I like to do it. Maybe because if it bombs I can be like, ‘Yeah that’s Craig, he’s terrible at standup.’ ”
While frequently taking the stage on his current stand-up tour, Dunnigan also plans some more projects. He is in the process of developing a TV pitch for a show based on a short video that was accepted into the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
“I’m also working on a movie script no one asked me to write,” he said. “I have a lot of selling to do over the next few months.”