Q+A: SARAH SILVERMAN

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007 | 8:14 a.m.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS

When: 10:30 p.m. Saturday ; 9 p.m. Sunday

Where: The Mirages Danny Gans Theatre

Tickets: $77; 791-7111

E-mail is not my favorite way to conduct an interview. Answers to questions sent via electronic mail have no spontaneity and no voice. Just the facts, ma'am.

That normally wouldn't describe Sarah Silverman, who can be shockingly funny. Often controversial, she tweaks social idiosyncrasies and eschews political correctness, delving into the humor of racism and sexism and other taboos.

A New Hampshire native, she broke the somber mold of the Granite State (think Robert Frost, J.D. Salinger, Alan Shepard and Mary Baker Eddy) to become a major force in the comedy world. If not its queen, she is its Jewish princess.

She wrote for "Saturday Night Live" (fired after one season). She has acted in many TV series ("Seinfeld," "The Larry Sanders Show") and written for many others. She's getting ready to host the second season of "The Sarah Silverman Program" on Comedy Central and does her stand-up act.

But right now, she's vacationing in Europe with her boyfriend, late-night talk show host (and former Las Vegan) Jimmy Kimmel.

And that means Silverman is tough to reach by telephone. To catch up with one of the funniest women on the planet, I decided to try a thoroughly modern e-mail interview, sending the list of questions to Silverman's publicist , who sent it to her agent , who forwarded it to her. Silverman responded to the questions, sent it back to the agent , who sent it to the publicist , who sent it back to us.

She will perform at the Mirage on Saturday and Sunday . It will be live, not via e-mail.

Q How are you, where are you and why are you there (I'm told this e-mail will reach you somewhere in Europe)?

We're in Amsterdam right now. It's so beautiful - you see how N.Y.C. was "New Amsterdam" - you get that same swelling feeling of being somewhere wonderful. But it's really clean and everyone rides bikes.

What's it like, dating a comedian? Do you try to top each other with jokes?

Yeah, we laugh a lot. He has a great work ethic. He's an idea man, so prolific.

Do you perform with Jimmy Kimmel, professionally?

We've been on the same shows (roasts, and his talk show) but we don't have any kind of two - person act.

Who's funnier, Kimmel or Adam Carolla (Kimmel's best friend and a well - known radio host)?

They are like peanut butter and jelly. They are both brilliant but in different ways that compliment each other.

Tell us about your TV show. It's going into its second season. What can we expect?

Ahhh, it's just ridiculous. We just finished shooting the second season and I'm really happy with it. You'll have to see what happens

What other projects are you involved in at the moment?

When I get back from Europe we start writing the next 10 episodes of my show, and I go on the road a bit, which is a little weird to think of right now because I haven't been doing stand-up all these few months of shooting. I usually feel out of it if I go two weeks without doing stand-up, and I'm going to be jumping right back in. I'm excited but will be happier mid-tour when I'm all lubed up and in the thick of it.

Have you performed in Vegas before? Was it a good experience? (George Carlin is very critical of the Vegas crowds, says they're generally not up on his type of humor.)

Yes. I did the House of Blues, which was a blast, and I did last year's Comic Relief, which was a cool experience. I just realized I'm being so not funny in this interview. I just woke up (it's 6:30 a.m. here) and logged on.

While appearing on Jerry Seinfeld did you become friends with Michael Richards? What's your take on his melt down at the Laugh Factory last year?

We did not become close or anything, to be honest. No clue about his melt down thing. I think he was trying to be loose on stage and lost control of the crowd and got "experimental" with nowhere to go from there and it fell flat - fell about 6 feet below flat, actually.

Is the country becoming too politically correct? Are you finding it increasingly difficult to find places to perform your kind of humor?

No, not at all. Maybe because comedy is traditionally a kind of counter culture. Not that there isn't extreme mainstream out there (not that that's bad - of course it CAN be, but sometimes it's BRILLIANT - Seinfeld, Ray Romano, etc.)

Do you ever feel compelled to censor yourself?

Nah. Only if it's not funny or just mean or something, I guess.

Is there any topic you won't touch for the sake of comedy?

Not if it's funny enough and in good spirits, ultimately.

Who has inspired you the most?

Garry Shandling, Steve Martin, Fred Rogers, Jimmy Kimmel, Ruth Gordon, my parents ...