And so it begins…

By Lynne Warren

Some five dozen bodies are lifting from their chairs. It’s nearly the moment when the 36th Mountain Workshops participants will get their assignments, in a full-contact scramble to grab a scrap of paper carrying a story concept from a hat.

“Are you a little nervous?” Workshop director James Kenney asks, grinning. “I hope you are.” Then the countdown—3, 2, 1—then the mad dash for the hat. Heads bending, eyes scanning, hands clenching that scrap of paper like a lifeline.

Then the first moment of truth: Meet your subject. Convince him, her, them, that you’re not crazy, or scary, or weird, and that it’s going to be okay to have you in their world for a week. Workshop founder Mike Morse used to call it, “cutting the deal.” It’s a deal that can change your vision, your career, your life.

Naomi Diessnack, left, Luke Franke, AmyLynne Hicks, Jon Garcia and Connor Choate sweep up cat scat outside the site of the 2011 Mountain Workshops. The WKU student "labbies" cleaned up debris from the closed houseboat factory to prepare for the Workshops in Somerset.
Peyton Hobson
Naomi Diessnack, left, Luke Franke, AmyLynne Hicks, Jon Garcia and Connor Choate sweep up cat scat outside the site of the 2011 Mountain Workshops. The WKU student "labbies" cleaned up debris from the closed houseboat factory to prepare for the Workshops in Somerset.
From left, Brian Masck, Amy Smotherman-Burgess and Mike Gee are all members of the IT team who have worked hard to make sure Workshops technology runs smoothly.
Mark Osler
From left, Brian Masck, Amy Smotherman-Burgess and Mike Gee are all members of the IT team who have worked hard to make sure Workshops technology runs smoothly.
Jeannie Adams-Smith prepares the story idea hat for participants during the Workshops' opening meeting as Rick Loomis watches her.
Mark Osler
Jeannie Adams-Smith prepares the story idea hat for participants during the Workshops' opening meeting as Rick Loomis watches her.
Workshops director James Kenney, left, says the people of Somerset, including Mayor Eddie Girdler, right, have been welcoming and helpful to Workshops staff.
Mark Osler
Workshops director James Kenney, left, says the people of Somerset, including Mayor Eddie Girdler, right, have been welcoming and helpful to Workshops staff.
WKU junior Justin Philalack, center, picks his story from the hat, as fellow participants (from left) Megan Tan, Morgan Walker, Sammy Jo Hester and Sarah Gerace reach around him. All participants met with their coaches before heading out to begin their stories.
Nina Greipel
WKU junior Justin Philalack, center, picks his story from the hat, as fellow participants (from left) Megan Tan, Morgan Walker, Sammy Jo Hester and Sarah Gerace reach around him. All participants met with their coaches before heading out to begin their stories.
WKU senior Brittany Sowacke gets in touch with her story subject on the first day of shooting.
Nina Greipel
WKU senior Brittany Sowacke gets in touch with her story subject on the first day of shooting.
Nina Greipel
WKU student and photo participant Megan Tan, right, meets with her coach, L.A. Times photographer Carolyn Cole.
Nina Greipel
WKU student and photo participant Megan Tan, right, meets with her coach, L.A. Times photographer Carolyn Cole.
Labbie Jabin Botsford waits out a line at Fazoli's on a swingset before getting dinner with the rest of the labbies.
Danny Guy
Labbie Jabin Botsford waits out a line at Fazoli's on a swingset before getting dinner with the rest of the labbies.
Ariana McLaughlin, a WKU senior from Cedar Rapids, Ia., makes phone calls after recieving her story on Tuesday. This is McLaughlin's first year participating in The Mountain Workshops.
Abby O'Bryan
Ariana McLaughlin, a WKU senior from Cedar Rapids, Ia., makes phone calls after recieving her story on Tuesday. This is McLaughlin's first year participating in The Mountain Workshops.
Staff member Jed Conklin fishes in the artifical pond beside the Workshops facility in his spare time. The facility is a former houseboat factory.
Nina Greipel
Staff member Jed Conklin fishes in the artifical pond beside the Workshops facility in his spare time. The facility is a former houseboat factory.
From left, Christian Randolph and Abby O'Bryan, both labbies from WKU, listen to the nightly presentation on the first day of Workshops.
Mark Osler
From left, Christian Randolph and Abby O'Bryan, both labbies from WKU, listen to the nightly presentation on the first day of Workshops.
Jonathan Woods, a multimedia editor for msnbc.com, works during the quiet before the storm - the Monday afternoon before many of the participants and staff arive for the Mountain Workshops. Woods graduated from Western Kentucky University with a photojournalism degree.
Bria Granville
Jonathan Woods, a multimedia editor for msnbc.com, works during the quiet before the storm - the Monday afternoon before many of the participants and staff arive for the Mountain Workshops. Woods graduated from Western Kentucky University with a photojournalism degree.
Mark Osler