Ahead of tonight's Season 50 premiere, Saturday Night Live Star Ego Nwodim developed a “not-so-secret” tactic that allows the weekly live show to run smoothly at breakneck speed.

“Our show is scripted,” she said People. “We read the cue cards.”

Apparently some viewers who discover this are surprised, but Nwodim said she is amazed that people think the show could work differently.

“People always say, 'You read the cards,'” she said. “Guys, we should read the cards. We're doing a live show. These sketches change until the moment we publish them.”

For example, in the iconic “Lisa from Temecula” sketch, “an entire portion of that sketch was taken out a few minutes before publication,” Nwodim explained. “The writers didn’t even have a chance to find me to tell me it was taken out.”

Nwodim added that she doesn't think so SNL would be the success it would have if its actors didn't use the cue cards.

“We have to rely on the cards,” she said. “We would be doing ourselves and the show and the sketches a disservice if we didn’t actually use their cards.”

As the new season of the long-running show kicks off tonight at 11:30 pm ET on NBC, Nwodim also gave a sneak peek at what viewers can expect this time around.

For one thing, she said that SNLThe producers have worked hard to make the big anniversary year special.

“It will be like the wedding of your dreams. It’s like your dad’s 50th birthday party or something,” Nwodim said. “I think it’s going to be really special. What I can say is that they go out of their way and are very careful and thoughtful about who they visit. And so I know they are very excited.”