Heights grad has small part in "Greater"

Gabby Keeley, a 2005 graduate of Jackson Heights, says she always wanted to be in the movies.

Now she is.

Gabrielle Kieffaber, as she was known growing up in the Soldier area, is the daughter of Walt and Frida Kieffaber. 

She said yesterday she was cast as an actress with a small part in the newly-released movie called “Greater,” which is being shown at Topeka movie theaters now.

Keeley says the movie is a family friendly one, rated PG, much like the movie “Rudy.’’

“I play a football player’s girlfriend,’’ Keeley said by phone yesterday.

At Jackson Heights High School, Keeley was involved in a lot of activities, she said, like cheerleading, dance, Cobra Singers, cross country, track and a host of other school clubs.

Now 30, Keeley said she has helped with casting in other movies, but this is her first part in a movie.

“Greater” is a movie that tells the inspirational true-life story of Arkansas football player Brandon Burlsworth, played by newcomer actor Chris Severio.

Burlsworth was easily recognized by his black-rimmed glasses that he wore during every game, giving him a resemblance to comedian Drew Carey, Gabby said.

Burlsworth was a walk-on football player at the University of Arkansas. His positive attitude and incredible work ethic earned him a full scholarship to play football for the Razorbacks, and his gentle spirit and kindness earned him the respect of his coaches and fellow players.

He was the first Arkansas football player to earn a master’s degree before playing his final game. Brandon went on to become an All-American player and was eventually a third-round draft pick by the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts.

Tragically, Burlsworth was killed in a car wreck only 11 days after being drafted with the Colts. After his death, the Burlsworth family established the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, a Christian organization aimed at meeting the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those with limited opportunities.

The movie also stars Neal McDonough (“Minority Report,” “Flags of Our Fathers”), Leslie Easterbrook (“Police Academy”) and Nick Searcy (“Justified”).

“I was fortunate enough to be on both sides of the camera for this movie,’’ Keeley said. “As a member of the production team, I served two roles. I was the background casting coordinator and a Production Coordinator. As the background casting coordinator, I worked with my team (which included my husband, Adam) to select background actors (also known as “extras”) for the various scenes.

“For some scenes,’’ Keeley said, “this might only require two or three extras such as a police officer, football coach or cheerleader. For other scenes, such as the final funeral scene, we had to find more than 750 people to play funeral attendees from all walks of life. This monumental task required hundreds of e-mails, phone calls, texts and Facebook posts to get all those people in the right place at the right time.”

Keeley said her team worked closely with the movie’s wardrobe department to determine which types of clothing and hairstyles would be period-appropriate (the film takes place primarily in the 1990s) and pass along that information to hundreds of volunteer background actors.

“Filming took place all over Arkansas,’’ she said, “which meant we also had to find extras in several different cities and towns. Finding people for the evening and night scenes was especially challenging!’’

Several months after principle filming was completed, the producers put together a skeleton production crew to film a few final scenes, Keeley said.

“During that time, I was the production coordinator, which meant I did a little bit of everything. I coordinated travel arrangements for the actors, arranged transportation, and yes, I even cast a few more background actors,’’ she said. “But the real fun came when I got to be on the other side of the camera as an actress. My character’s name was Gabby, and she was the girlfriend of one of the main football players. That was my first time on screen, and even though it was a small role, it was a lot of fun.’’

“Greater” is a family-friendly movie that faces head-on the question of why bad things happen to good people.

“You will laugh, cry and probably even get chills,’’ Keeley said. “It’s a great movie with a great message.’’