A.A. Fredericks Auditorium will soon be filled with corsets and revenge as the cast of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” takes the stage.

“Take about ten seconds to think about what you want to accomplish in this rehearsal,” Director Scott Burrell said to the cast at the beginning of a run-through.

Actors answered Burrell with goals such as bigger stage presence and remembering lines. While the cast were all still perfecting their lines, they were quick and eager to fix mistakes when they were made.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses” depicts 1700s upper-class French society members with too much time on their hands and bones to pick. Valmont and Merteuil, the two leads, hatch a plan to start a scandal and damage the reputations of those around them.

Junior theater major Rosa Campbell plays widow Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil.

“I really love getting to play someone who is not me for just a little while,” she said. “This show is [also] so different from any other show I have ever done because of the time period.”

Senior and fellow theatre major Jesse Kortus, cast as Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont, said he loves the stage because it doesn’t feel like work. Kortus researched images from 1700s France to be sure that he fit the time period and that the essence of the period shined through his performance.

The show has many undertones, Campbell and Kortus agreed, and each scene is different. Campbell described the show as well-written.

“There are so many different layers to dive into, and I don’t think we get all of them yet,” she said.

“Some undercurrents are a nice breeze on an ocean, and some of it is more choppy and stormy,” Kortus said about the plot.

Since this show is not as widely known to the everyday audience, actors must portray their part clearly so the audience knows what is going on.

“You have to take certain pauses and hit certain words so that not only [does the audience] know what’s going on, but so that the other character on stage can react appropriately,” Kortus said.

“I feel like there’s some giggles in the show – some gasps perhaps,” Campbell said. “I think that I definitely feed off of that.”

The cast feels confident about their progress in rehearsals and think they are improving with rehearsal of each scene. The final product will premiere in A.A. Fredericks Nov. 1 and run through Nov. 5. Tickets for “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” can be reserved by calling 318-357-4218.