She’s only 16, but Jennette McCurdy already knows a thing or two about time management.

McCurdy, who plays Sam on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly,” crams in homework while on the set, during commutes and on weekends. And in addition to her many acting gigs (her credits appear in episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Zoey 101″ and “Judging Amy”), McCurdy is also working on launching a music career.

She also sets aside time to mingle with fans: She’ll sign autographs from 6:15 to 8:45 p.m. at the Nov. 28 Rivermen game.

We caught up with McCurdy on a weekday morning while her mom drove her to a rehearsal of “iCarly.”

What made you decide to become an actress?

When I was about 2 years old, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And she was always in the hospital – she had to have a bone marrow transplant, chemotherapy and radiation. She was in the hospital for months at a time.

I have three older brothers; they tried to sort of keep their mind off of things and get my mind off of things by watching the original “Star Wars” movies, episodes 4, 5 and 6. We’d watch them over and over every day, and a motto that we lived by was, “The Force is with mommy; she can do this; she’ll be OK; the Force is with her.”

She recovered and everything and a couple of years after, (one of the films) came out on the big screen. It was a huge deal for our family since it helped us get through a lot of tough times. We went to go see it as a family, and it touched me so much that I turned to my mom and said, “Mommy, I want to be in the movies, like Han Solo.”

It took my mom several years before she said, “Well, I guess she’s not going to let up; I better take her seriously,” and she started looking for an agent, and little by little, guest spots and things like that just built up.

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You’ve been in a lot of TV shows. What are some of your favorite experiences?

Well, my favorite filming experience was probably an episode of “Law & Order: SVU.” That was really amazing, I got to go to New York for about two weeks, and Mariska Hargitay was so nice to me. It was great; it was one of my biggest guest starring roles I’d done. Being able to work with those great actors and learn from them – I was able to work with Mary Stuart Masterson, who was in “Benny and Joon” with Johnny Depp, who is my idol.

Characterwise, my favorite was a show called “The Inside.” I played a girl who murdered a little boy. It sounds terrible … but roles like that don’t come along very often, especially for a kid.

Before “iCarly,” I mostly did serious roles. I’ve done “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Will and Grace,” which was comedy, but other than that, everything I’ve done has been really dramatic.

I actually played a bipolar character in the past, and that was one of my favorites. My character thought all her stuffed animals were out to kill her, so she basically killed her stuffed animals first. It could have been really cheesy – she was stabbing her stuffed animals with a butcher knife.

To be able to play a character like that is the coolest thing; to really get out there and do something that’s so opposite of you.

I understand that you are working on fostering a music career, too.

Yeah. I’m actually working on my first CD. I can’t even describe it, it’s so cool. I’m working with really great songwriters, and being able to get in a studio and sing and help write some of the songs has been an awesome experience. I’m actually learning to play the guitar and the drums. I played the piano in the past, for six years before. I’m really trying to delve in, full force. I’m hoping to release a single in the very early part of ’09.

Is it hard to balance school and work?

It actually is kind of hard. I’m in 11th grade, so my courses are pretty difficult, and I have quite a few of them. … They’re really strict on “iCarly” about making sure we get our school time in. We have to average up to three hours a day for schoolwork, but that’s not quite enough for 11th grade. So most of the time I’m catching up on weekends, and we have a long commute from our house to a studio where we shoot, so I work on the way up and back from there as well.

Anything you want to say to your fans?

I just want to say thanks. I call my fans my “frans” – it’s a mixture of friends and fans – because I feel a really close connection with my fans. They’re so great, whenever they write me a poem or draw me a picture or send me a letter or a message, it makes me feel so great knowing I have that kind of support and encouragement.

Jennette McCurdy will sign autographs from 6:15 to 8:45 p.m. Nov. 28 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen’s game against the Rockford Icehogs starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for lower bowl, $15 for upper bowl and $8 for upper bowl end zone, available at the Civic Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets and by calling 676-8700.