When actress Lisa Ann Walter travels around the country, residents tell the “Abbott Elementary” star she has to try their town’s crab cakes.

“The first thing I say is, ‘Listen, I’m from Maryland.’ It better be nothing but crab, a little mayo and mustard and like, a dusting of breadcrumbs on the outside to bind it together. A little Old Bay seasoning, that’s it,” Walter said last week during a phone interview. “I don’t need to see any green peppers in your crab cake.”

For the Silver Spring native, it’s always a treat to return to Maryland — and not just for the cuisine. Walter, who is also a stand-up comedian and known for her roles in movies like “The Parent Trap” and “Bruce Almighty,” is back this weekend to perform four shows at Magooby’s Joke House in Timonium.

Before her headlining sets, the Montgomery Blair High School alumna spoke about her approach to stand-up, the evolution of her “Abbott Elementary” character, Melissa Schemmenti, and more. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Let’s talk stand-up. Who are your stand-up heroes and what made their styles stick with you as you were finding your own approach?

When I was a kid, I used to have the albums for George Carlin. I’m nowhere near his style although I can get very passionate. … And then it was Richard Pryor. I had all the Richard Pryor albums, and I used to memorize his routines and repeat them. I mean, not the N-word, but the other cursing I would say and I would get away with it, which was unheard of in my household because we were Catholic and we weren’t supposed to curse. But I made my mother laugh the first time I used a curse word saying a joke. … I thought, “Ah-ha! I can get away with anything as long as it’s funny.” So those were the ones that really were formative for me.

With Richard Pryor, it was much more inspirational in terms of what became my brand of comedy — not because of the cursing, although sure, why not — but because he was so revealing. He was revelatory about himself. I always used to say he showed you his spleen. Anything that was ugly or sad or scary or dangerous — all of the things in his life, he would talk about. So I thought that seems to me to be more aligned with who I am, to tell the truth about my world.

Congratulations on “Abbott Elementary’s” continued success and the renewal for Season 5. What brings you the most joy about playing Melissa after all of these episodes?

In Season 4, we had so much room to play — we had 22 episodes to explore and get a little deeper into not just the characters but moments between the characters. I had never had a storyline with Ava [Coleman, played by Janelle James] until this past season, where it was just she and I. So stuff like that, it’s super fun. We’re a really great ensemble, and there’s always more to explore in the dynamics between each other.

But I knew going into this season, I could tell from the table reads, I was just gonna have fun with it. … I wasn’t pressured, does that make sense? I just felt free to have a good time, and it really showed because I got calls from my bosses and from [creator and lead actress] Quinta [Brunson] saying, “You’re killing it this season. We don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it.” And it was just that I was having fun. I was finding beats. There was all the stuff that was on the page and then there was stuff that I was finding that was funny that wasn’t on the page.

You crushed it last year on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (Walter won $1 million for the Entertainment Community Fund, a charity that helps actors and behind-the-scenes workers.) Were you expecting that kind of performance and do you have any tips for any aspiring “Jeopardy!” contestants?

First of all, there may be whole categories that you know but you don’t get the buzzer. Because what I didn’t know before I played the game is that you cannot buzz until he says the last word of the question. If you buzz early, you get locked out for a few seconds. After that, you’re allowed to buzz in so you probably won’t be able to buzz in at all unless everybody gets the answer wrong. So the buzzer is the hardest thing.

The other piece of it is even if you know an answer, because it’s under pressure, you might blurt out something that’s ridiculous and then you’re immediately like, “Oh my God, of course I know the answer to that. What the heck was I thinking?” But it’s much more high pressure than you would imagine. Well, it was for me because it wasn’t just like, eh, whatever, doesn’t matter — at least I’ll win $30,000 for my charity. I want to win. I come to play, I come to win. I’m extremely competitive with board games and game shows. I don’t like to mess around. So if I lose, I am not happy. But it was a big surprise when I won, though.

What’s next? Are there roles fans should be on the lookout for or more stand-up coming?

Definitely more stand-up. There will be a version of this [set] that’ll be on an outlet that we recorded. I can’t tell you where yet because the deal’s not closed, but maybe by the time I do the shows at Magooby’s I’ll be able to announce it. So that’s exciting, and then there’s a little movie that I’m shooting.

What else? Lots of shows that I’m creating that I’ve written that we’re gonna take out and pitch — a couple of animated projects, lots of different things. So, we’ll see what sells in the marketplace and hopefully more Lisa coming at you soon.