Round House Theatre, the Bethesda company that started with theater classes under a tree in Rockville in 1970, opens its 50th anniversary season on Wednesday, Sept. 9, with August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

The production, co-produced with Olney Theatre Center, runs through Sunday, Oct. 11, at Round House's main stage at 4545 East West Highway. Helen Hayes Award winners Lili-Anne Brown and Melody Betts, who previously collaborated on "Fela!," reunite as director and lead actor.

The milestone season also brings "50 for 50," a slate of 50 free public events the theater describes as "free ways to gather, learn, celebrate, and experience theatre." Details are available at roundhousetheatre.org/on-stage/50-for-50.

The anniversary caps a dramatic growth arc. Artistic Director Ryan Rilette, entering his 15th season, said in an Aug. 18 interview with Bethesda Magazine that the company's budget has roughly tripled under his watch, growing from $3–$4 million annually to $10 million. Round House has earned 253 Helen Hayes Award nominations and 60 wins.

The growth hasn't changed the mission.

Rilette said the anniversary programming is meant to be forward-looking while honoring the past, not simply replaying greatest hits. He described the theater's next chapter as focused on deeper work rather than getting bigger.

Round House serves more than 5,000 students annually through education programs including its Teen Performance Company, where every role in the artistic ensemble, from director to dramaturg, is filled by a high school student paired with a professional mentor. The theater also partners with Montgomery County Public Schools, sending staff to five elementary schools for after-school programming last year, each serving communities with high rates of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals.

One of those education alumni is coming full circle this fall. Actor Derrick Truby attended Round House summer camp as a middle schooler and is now rehearsing "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" in the same building where camps are running.

Longtime staff member Danisha Crosby, who joined Round House in 1992, recalled the theater's humbler days in a former Wheaton elementary school where performers worked in pie-wedge-shaped rooms. During student matinees, a county copy machine on the floor above was loud enough to rattle audiences.

"I used to have to go upstairs and knock on the county door and be like, 'Stop copying,'" Crosby told Bethesda Magazine. "And now we're here and we have the education center in downtown Silver Spring and our rehearsal space."

The rest of the 50th anniversary season includes "Cult of Love" (Nov. 18–Dec. 27), "Chinese Republicans" (Jan. 27–Feb. 21), "Baby Shower Katie" (April 14–May 9) and "The White Chip" (June 2–July 3). Tickets and the full "50 for 50" schedule are at roundhousetheatre.org.