As the world cautiously emerged from pandemic lockdowns in spring 2021, Ryan Welsh, associate professor of theatre at Michigan State University, was ready to direct his first feature film. He had assembled a crew and secured time to shoot when the project unexpectedly fell through. But rather than completely abandoning the opportunity, he made a bold decision to write, cast and produce an entirely new film in a matter of a few weeks.
From that decision, When We Get There, Welsh’s first feature film, was born. What began as a small guerrilla-style production eventually attracted Hollywood producers and veteran actors who worked alongside recent MSU Department of Theatre graduates.
When We Get There was released March 3 and is now available on Amazon Prime and Fandango at Home. It will have its big-screen world premiere at the 2026 Capital City Film Festival on April 18 at the Riverwalk Theatre, located at 228 Museum Drive in Lansing, Michigan.
When Hollywood producers Josh Tessier and Brady Hallongren of Whiskey Panda Studios first saw Welsh’s rough cut of the film, they recognized its potential, saying that the “film has legs.” They suggested writing roles for established actors with industry recognition to strengthen the film’s distribution prospects and sales. Joining the cast were veteran actors Alfred Molina (Chocolat, Spider-Man 2, Three Pines, Magnolia), Mindy Sterling (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Austin Powers, iCarly) and William Katt (The Greatest American Hero, Carrie, The Man from Earth).
At the heart of the film, however, are three recent MSU Department of Theatre graduates — Chris Heeder, Alek Kristopher and Jamie Lien — who had just completed their undergraduate degrees in spring 2021 when Welsh invited them to join the project.
“In the days following their graduation from MSU, I approached Chris, Jamie and Alek with the idea to make this film, which, at the time, had very little budget and very little external support,” Welsh said. “I needed some actors who were A. crazy talented, and B. willing to get into the trenches of indie filmmaking with me to make something special. I am blown away by what these three young actors were able to do in this film. Their performances are raw, endearing and heartfelt.”
The film also showcases Spartan talent behind the camera. Cinematographer Tanner Evans and Production Sound Mixer Dylan Kissel, both MSU alums, brought technical excellence to the production and helped bring the project to life.
“Filming When We Get There was one of the greatest pleasures of my life,” Heeder said. “Working with Alfred Molina was an absolute treat and being able to go toe-to-toe in a scene with him was a pressure I feel very privileged to have felt. Above all, the greatest pleasure was being able to work with my fellow Spartans Ryan Welsh, Jamie Lien and Alek Kristopher, with some of my close friends Connor Foley and Tanner Evans behind the camera. I grew up in East Lansing, and I’ve never felt so at home, then when I was acting with them in Michigan and LA.”
The school of available resources
When Welsh’s initial film project fell through, he didn’t spend time lamenting, but rather shifted gears to focus on the new film project.
“In a very short amount of time — I’m talking two weeks from the time I realized that the film fell through — I decided I wanted to shoot something,” Welsh said. “I had materials and some resources, and I had already gathered this team of people. The film was born out of a unique blend of opportunity and low-key desperation. It was a whirlwind for everybody.”
With no time for traditional pre-production, Welsh relied on what he calls the “school of available resources.” Instead of writing a script that required locations or equipment he didn’t have, he took inventory and built the story around what was accessible, with many scenes shot locally in Lansing and throughout Michigan.
When We Get There is a road-trip drama that follows twin brothers Cal and Ty after the death of their mother as they set out across the country to meet the father they’ve never known. Joined by Cal’s girlfriend, Ellie, and a new guitar named Stevie, the trio navigates grief, adulthood, and uncertain futures across 2,000 miles of American landscape.
The production blended scripted scenes with guided improvisation, allowing the actors to help shape their characters and relationships.
Without time for his usual storyboarding and pre-visualization process, Welsh leaned on experience and intuition. He opted for handheld camera work to create a natural, immediate feel.
From guerrilla film to professional production
When the Whiskey Panda Studios producers became involved, Welsh accepted the creative challenge of writing new roles for Alfred Molina, Mindy Sterling and William Katt.
“The challenge was how to take a narrative that already existed without those characters and integrate new ones in a way that didn’t feel tacked on but felt meaningful to the development of the core,” Welsh said. “It was an exciting challenge.”
The production also was transformed when returning for reshoots.
“We went from a set where I might hang a light to suddenly having trailers for departments and grip trucks,” Welsh said. “I no longer needed to touch any lights; we had people for that. It was interesting to reconcile those two styles of filmmaking.”
The evolving nature of the production and the compressed timeline taught Welsh about himself as a director, revealing strengths and talents he didn’t know he had.
“I learned as a director that I’ve got a lot in my toolkit that allows me to work quickly when I need to,” he said. “It’s reassuring to know that if I’m thrown into the storm, I can film my way out of it.”
From students to colleagues
For Welsh, the most rewarding aspect of the production was watching his former students hold their own opposite the veteran actors and work as equals alongside Molina, Sterling and Katt.
“They were ready for the challenge and were consummate professionals. They ingratiated themselves to these veterans,” Welsh said. “I remember them in my Acting Two class talking about process. On set, I didn’t talk to them about their process; we just talked like professionals and colleagues. They showed up for it, and I’m really proud of them. It was incredibly rewarding.”
The relationships that formed between the MSU alums and the veteran actors extended beyond the set. One still keeps in touch with Sterling, who helped him secure representation in Los Angeles, and Molina invited the young actors to the premiere of a play he was in at Pasadena Playhouse.
The impact of the experience was especially meaningful for the MSU alums, including Heeder, who was born and raised in East Lansing. He discovered acting while studying to be a psychologist at Michigan State University when he took an Acting 101 class and found his true passion. He switched his major and never looked back, graduating with a BFA in Acting in 2021.
“I grew up a homegrown Michigan State fan as my mom has worked there for 45+ years,” Heeder said, “so to have this film be a product of the Michigan State Theatre Department, is extremely special to have been a part of.”
Kristopher also was born and raised in Michigan and earned a BFA in acting from MSU in 2021.
“When I decided to get into this world of storytelling, I always wanted it to come from a place near and dear to me, to be genuine, and the making of this film was just that,” Kristopher said. “When we decided to film, we never thought about where it could go, and to eventually be presented with the opportunity to work with some incredible veteran talent in Mindy, Alfred and Bill, I mean, wow! This is an experience I will cherish for the rest of my career as an actor and in my soul as a person.”
Bridging two worlds as educator and artist
The entire experience also brought into focus Welsh’s own perspective on his career as both an artist and professor.
“When I came to MSU from the Los Angeles art side, it felt like a risk,” he said. “I wondered if I would lose the part of me that was a creator.”
Creating this film and watching his former students step into professional roles shifted Welsh’s perspective.
“When I finally embraced that I am an artist and an educator, I saw that they serve each other,” Welsh said. “This film is a crystallization of those identities. It’s not ‘if you can’t do, teach,’ it’s ‘if you can do, teach.’ I’m constantly taking what I’m learning as an artist into the classroom, and what I’m learning in pedagogy back to my art.”
As a director coming from a performance background, Welsh understands how to create the conditions for great performances. He’s worked with major theaters in Los Angeles and Michigan, was a series regular for two seasons on the Lionsgate series Bite Me (earning a Streamy nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy), and has earned acting awards at film festivals.
“My strength as a director comes from the fact that I’m an actor’s director,” he said. “I know how to work with performers to find their best work and create a space where the actor feels they can do it. This film is really a showcase of collaboration more than any one thing.”
Looking ahead
Welsh hopes audiences connect with the story’s heart. The film follows multiple characters at a crossroads: Cal and Ty processing grief and stepping into adulthood, Ellie and Cal examining the future of their relationship, Molina’s recently retired character facing his own new chapter, and another couple navigating a health crisis.
“I really hope the audience finds it to be life-affirming,” Welsh said. “Because we were making this coming out of the pandemic, it was important to tell a story that had heart and hard moments but was ultimately connecting. I wanted this to be something people could watch and leave feeling a little lighter, maybe a little more hopeful.”
Besides its world premiere at the Capital City Film Festival, Welsh is planning other local screenings in the Lansing area that will serve both educational and community purposes, bringing current MSU students together with the community that supported the production.
The lessons learned from When We Get There are informing Welsh’s next project. He’s currently in pre-production on his second feature film, Last of the Wild Buffalo, a screen adaptation of his 2018 stage play about two estranged brothers who reunite at their childhood home over the holidays. The project earned Welsh a $100,000 Large-Scale Humanities and Arts Research Program grant from MSU’s Office of Research and Innovation. Where the stage version confined the story to a single bedroom, the film adaptation will expand the brothers’ world visually while maintaining the play’s focused examination of toxic masculinity.
This story originally appeared on the College of Arts and Letters website.
