From “Saturday Night Live” to “School of Rock,” Sarah Silverman has forged an impressive career as a standup comedian, actress and author. Silverman will perform March 29 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Courtesy photo

When she was a 3-year-old, Sarah Silverman’s father taught her some swear words. Running around a supermarket, she would shout them out, causing some shoppers to break out in laughter. A comedian was born.

“I would say the things that informed my life, the most was my dad teaching me swear words when I was a toddler,” Silverman says. “I’d scream them out at the supermarket, and I would get this reaction of approval, like adults giving me wild approval despite themselves. That felt addicting to me. Especially in my early career, surprise was a big element I loved having. Also, being a bedwetter well into my teens informed a lot because nothing felt scary to me after that. Nothing intimidated me after that. I had been through the height of humiliation, teenage bedwetting. I wasn’t intimidated by the thought of bombing or being laughed at for the wrong reasons. None of that scared me. So it prepared me for a perfect life in comedy.”

Silverman’s perfect life includes popular HBO specials, hit movies like “School of Rock,” winning Emmy Awards, earning a Grammy nomination, working on “Saturday Night Live,” writing a New York Times Bestseller, creating a critically acclaimed podcast and even producing a musical, “The Bedwetter.”

The acclaimed standup comedian heads to Maui to perform at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on March 29 with her latest “Postmortem Tour.”

“That’s in D.C. right now and hopefully moving to Broadway in the fall,” she says about the musical. “It was really interesting to be on tour with this show about the end of my parents’ life and then finish that tour until when I pick it back up and then go to the musical, which is about the beginning of their relationship, the earlier parts of their lives.”

In a wide-ranging interview, she dived into her extensive career, touching on a variety of subjects from her “Saturday Night Live” days to working with comic genius Garry Shandling and helping people laugh during this time of national crisis.

Besides the swearing toddler, she has always enjoyed making people laugh. “I am from a funny family, but I think making my family laugh was kind of my job as the youngest in the family. Comedians are always the youngest, it seems. I remember Sacha Baron Cohen telling me comedians are always the youngest sibling.”

With “SNL” just celebrating its 50th anniversary, she was invited to participate as an audience member for the three-hour special. “The audience was all people who had performed on the show or hosted, and so it was really lovely, but it was such a long time ago. I was 22 on the show, and just there as a writer and feature performer for one season. Then I hosted a few years ago. The most I was on the air when I was on it was I would be like a plant in the audience asking the host questions when they take questions. So when I hosted, I took questions from the audience, and they were all me from 20 years earlier.”

Among her acting roles, she spent time on “The Larry Sanders Show,” Garry Shandling’s brilliant satire of talk shows. “It was amazing,” she recalls. “I was a fan of the show and of Gary Shandling. He really became a mentor to me and so many other young comics. It was an incredible experience. He kind of gave us everything he learned the hard way, served on a silver platter, and just made an indelible impact on me and so many comics’ lives.”

Another high point that gave her cool credentials, acting with Jack Black in the cult classic “School of Rock.” In a Rolling Stone interview, Black highly praised how she daily cracked the cast up.

“It was funny because I played such an angry, bitchy character, but I had so much fun because I made everyone laugh during the in-between shots. It’s funny to then go to see the movie, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m the bummer in this movie.’ All these years later, some woman wrote her college thesis on how my character was right. Hilarious. But to be a part of it, and Jack is everything you would wish him to be, and more — such a special, huge-hearted, lovely human being. I can’t say enough about that person. I love him.”

Silverman has made an impressive career out of comedy that addresses taboo and controversial subjects, from homophobia and politics to religion and racism, while playing on her Jewish heritage. Like, announcing the title of her memoir will be “My Struggle,” and that she can just see the surprised faces of some of the buyers when it is translated into German. Hint: “Mein Kampf.”

She loves standup. “I love the relationship with the audience,” she says. “I love the energy. I love the instant reaction. I love how self-contained it is. I love the feeling of connection with the crowd and I love getting to Hawaii.”

In these polarized times, she’s very cognizant of the impact of humor. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it,” she explains. “I’ve always been pretty political, and it’s become so overwhelming and I’m not giving up on it per se or anything. I do feel that my job as a comedian is more important than ever, for me anyway, and that if I can keep people laughing at times like this, that’s a job well done.”

Silverman was in Ohio when the election was called. “I was then flying out of Kentucky to go to South Carolina, and I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ And the truth is, I kept going, and every show felt more and more not important. But to be in a room with a whole bunch of people and to make them laugh in these times has been more satisfying than I thought. So when you’re in a group of people and you’re connected by laughter, it’s a time where we feel very alone and we’re not alone.”

While podcasting is all the rage these days, it’s kind of wild that this star of stage and screen launched “The Sarah Silverman Podcast,” where she muses on life, talks to regular folks and offers advice.

“To be honest, the pandemic hit, and I couldn’t do standup,” she explains. “It was the longest I had ever gone since I was 17 not doing standup. It felt like I was cut off at the knees. I had been asked about podcasts for a long time, but I always thought, ‘I don’t want to do a podcast.’ So I go, ‘OK, I’ll do it.’ I could never have celebrity guests and ask friends for favors. Even when I wrote my book, ‘The Bedwetter,’ I made up fake blurbs.

“I wanted to talk to people. I wanted to just connect with people, and so we made a phone line, and people just call in, and I was shocked that it’s global. It didn’t occur to me that my podcast goes all over the world, that the calls are from Israel, Australia, London, Iraq, all over, and it was so awesome. I just love getting calls from such a diverse array of people, and I love the listeners.”

In a way, she’s become a bit of a celebrity guru. “People call in, a lot of times it’s for advice, or maybe they’re giving advice,” she continues. “I know a lot because I’m older, and I’ve had a ton of therapy, and I’m interested in this s–. And then as a comedian, I think comedians, we have to be able to connect with anyone at any given time, and that’s a great skill to have, especially in these times. I do have stuff I can offer, but when I don’t, I admit it.

“It’s become such a great network of people that help each other. And I think that in these times, that’s going to be our salvation. It’s going to be community, and realizing that we’re not separate.”

Silverman pauses, and carries on, “We’re all connected, and this is not a funny interview at all. What am I doing? We got to take care of each other, period. When things get too much, you just have to remember we’re on a f–ing rock in outer space like nothing matters. We take things way too seriously. It’s exactly what pulls me into depression, but it’s also exactly what gets me out.”

Another pause, “I’m sorry I wasn’t having — I always forget to be funny in these.”

Silverman performs at the MACC’s Castle Theater at 7 p.m. March 29. Tickets are $45, $59.50, and $75, plus applicable fees.