Ana Mota speaks before the Grand Prairie ISD school board. (Dylan Duke / KERA News)
by Chris Peterson
I think it’s embarrassing that a Texas high school student has had to go to federal court to fight for a role she already earned in her school musical. Yet, as always(especially in the Lone Star State), here we are.
Ana Mota was cast as Seymour in South Grand Prairie High School’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. According to the lawsuit filed on her behalf by her parents on October 26, she auditioned, went through callbacks, was selected by her theatre teacher and began rehearsing.
The complaint alleges that district administrators then directed that she be removed because she is female and replaced by a male student. Her family is asking the court to restore the production and allow her to perform the role, alleging violations of Title IX.
Grand Prairie ISD has attributed its decision to compliance with Texas Senate Bill 12. Its explanation also cited the musical’s romantic relationship and themes involving abuse. The district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The timeline makes this especially frustrating. According to the complaint, Ana was called back for Seymour on September 30 and selected on October 1. On October 6, her teacher told her mother that administrators had raised concerns about the casting. By October 8, KERA reported that Ana and her mother were being told the production would be replaced. Within roughly a week, she went from getting the part to sitting in a meeting about why the school wouldn’t let her play it.
“I earned this role, and I went through the same process as everyone else did,” Mota told KERA.
Ana also had experience playing male characters. She had previously played Jack in Into the Woods. According to her complaint, she intended to play Seymour as the male character written in the script. The distinction seems perfectly understandable to me.
According to the complaint, Ana was offered the option of sharing Audrey with another student. She declined, in part because she hadn’t auditioned for that role and didn’t want to displace someone else. The district subsequently canceled the production and replaced it with Frozen.
Some of the earlier reporting makes this even more frustrating. KERA obtained a recording of a meeting in which district officials discussed concerns about potential protests and political backlash. The district also clarified that it was relying on the 2025 version of SB 12 after a different law bearing the same number had been discussed with the family.
The 2023 law concerned sexually oriented performances. The 2025 law addresses school policies involving subjects including DEI, gender identity and sexual orientation.
NBC’s reporting on the lawsuit explains that the family is challenging the district’s interpretation of the latter, arguing that it does not expressly prohibit students from playing characters of the opposite sex.
Ana’s mother, Nancy Jimenez-Mota, explained the family’s decision to act in a statement reported by FOX 4: “I think there’s a time in which we need to stand up for the freedoms granted by the Constitution.”
This is what happens when politics trickles down into a school rehearsal room. Lawmakers create restrictions, administrators worry about backlash, and a teenager loses a role she earned.
I support her family’s decision to fight this. But I’m tired of watching students have to be this brave because adults are afraid of the politics. She should be rehearsing.
