When Civic Theatre of Allentown Artistic Director William Sanders and Civic Associate Artistic Director Will Morris were deciding on what play would be the first main-stage production Morris would direct at Civic Theatre of Allentown, “God of Carnage” came to mind.

“My criteria was that I wanted a small ensemble piece that was a comedy that really focused in on the performances,” says Morris.

Civic Theatre of Allentown’s production of “God of Carnage” continues at 7:30 p.m. June 23, 24 and 25 and 2 p.m. June 26, 19th Street Theatre, 527 N. 19th St., Allentown.

Morris directs Holly Cate (Veronica Novak), Chis Egging (Alan Raleigh), Kathleen Oswalt (Annette Raleigh) and Robert Trexler (Michael Novak).

“It’s kind of an actors’ wonderland. The actor has to take quite a large journey through a vast array of experiences. They really begin at Point A and end at Triple Point B,” says Morris.

The 2009 Broadway production of “God of Carnage,” by playwright Yasmina Reza as translated by Christopher Hampton, received three Tony Awards, including best play.

“It’s a comedy, so you have to be aware of that because the circumstances are so dire in the play. The way the playwight has linked together all of the absurd situations and experiences, it creates this absurdly funny comedy,” Morris says.

Morris was promoted from Civic technical director to associate artistic director in July 2015. He’s been at Civic for a decade, often as lighting and costume designer, as well as acting in numerous shows there. Alexander Michaels is Civic’s new technical director, also appointed last July.

“As part of that promotion, I’m directing on the main stage each year,” says Morris. “We went back and forth on whether I would direct one of the four shows or add a fifth show and we went with the latter.”

Morris directed “Why We Have A Body,” “Music From Down The Hill” and “Beyond The Veil” at the black-box format Theatre 514 at Civic Theatre.

“God of Carnage” takes place in the living room of the Novaks. The playwright asks little in terms of scenic requirements.

“She asks for as little realism as possible. She wants there to be as many realistic elements as possible in order for the play to function. But it shouldn’t necessary overall look like a fully-realized Brooklyn apartment.

“The scenic design is heavily theatricalized in creating a gesture of space, but it always reminds you that you are in a theater watching a play.

“The reason I think the playwright does this is because the play is called ‘God of Carnage’ and the stage acts as a space to sacrifice these actors to the god of carnage. It’s less about being a living room and more a space for these characters to be sacrificed for the audience,” Morris says.

“The play itself is just a wildly fun roller coaster to sit down on and enjoy all the hills and loops and corkscrews. The playwright’s constantly throwing more and more at you. Just when you think she can’t top herself situationally, she does, and it just gets funnier and funnier.

“It’s a really great piece for people to sit and think about and how they would fare when faced with boundary-pushing decisions. It’s interesting to watch the characters push past their limits. Do they fall? Do they enjoy it? Do they learn something? Do we learning something from their journey? I think the answer to all of that is ‘Yes,’ which makes it such a gritty, meaty piece.

“It’s full of constant surprises. So, people should buckle their seat belts and get ready,” Morris says.

Some of the play’s props were updated to contemporize the production. “It still functions beautifully in the now.”

Adds Morris, “The biggest challenge for me is learning how to create intimate staging for a wider viewpoint [of the audience]. I’m so used to working on a piece where the audience is five feet from the actors and in some sort of a thrust stage.”

Morris, a Charlotte, N.C., native received a BA in theater arts in 2005 from Furman University, Greenville, S.C. He did an acting intership for the 2005-06 season at Civic and has been there every since.

“The Lehigh Valley is so beautifully placed in terms of its positioning toward New York City and Philadelphia. The Lehigh Valley impresses me with its strong commitment to local arts.

“Civic Theatre, I feel, acts as a very fine-tuned vehicle for promoting the local arts in the Lehigh Valley. I think we’re able to present really competitive theatrical experiences to New York and Philadelphia but at less of a cost. Overall, I’m really proud to be part of an organization that is constantly raising the bar for what local arts should be.”

Tickets: civictheatre.com, 610-432-8943