Barbara Bates Kirkland was born 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana. On a sunny day in 1946, Kirkland and her mother stepped off the train from Shreveport and onto the Western street of Fremont in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kirkland’s mother, Atha Toliver, found employment as a maid. Toliver, who was determined that her daughter would get an education and a finer future, saw this as her opportunity to achieve this for her daughter. Later, she opened Eva’s Flower Basket, a floral shop that Kirkland would operate after retiring from teaching.

The Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada [JRTN] is one of the first professional theaters in the valley. Financed by two committed actresses’ personal investments, Norma Morrow and Charlene Sher, the theatre made great strides in the short amount of time since its 2010 inauguration.