The Flying Rock Casting Agency is bridging the gap between the theater arts, film and photography departments on campus.

The agency uses a casting book, assembled by student Tayler Rivera, which makes it easier for those involved in these departments to join forces.

“I hear…actors saying, ‘I wish I had more work,’ and [film students] saying ‘God, I wish I had more actors,’” said Rivera, a 22-year-old film production major. “Finally, I just got sick of it.”

Filmmakers can find actors, and photographers can find models for their projects through the book. Similarly, actors can pursue opportunities to expand their portfolios in film and photography.

“We want to be in front of the camera,” said Richard Lonsbury, 22, president of the drama club.

A few actors have already been cast through the agency, including Ryan Baumann, Jana Nawartschi and Joe Sacks.

Three casting books are now  in print. One is Rivera’s personal copy, and the other two are designated for the film and photography departments.

“Let’s say a film student gets an assignment for a short film and they need an actor who fulfills a certain criteria,” said Seantel Sanders, an instructor in the photography department.

“They find someone who has the look they want. They can see their experience and what they’ve done so far. It’s really just like…a catalog.”

The books include the actor’s picture beside his or her name and characteristics, such as hair color, eye color, height, weight, and whether he or she has a problem with kissing on camera.

Before the book, most theater students could only participate in school productions with a limited number of roles. Many actors at the college could not get work.

“There’s not a whole lot of opportunity for theater students to do film in our area,” said Sara Solano, a 23-year-old student. “Most…are theater-based.”

Rivera has compiled roughly 70 percent of the actors at City College. He predicts the book will include 70 to 80 actors by mid-March.

Rivera upholds a standard of reliability among the actors in the book.

“I want this to be for people who really do see themselves pursuing a career,” he said.

Rivera has been attending City College since Fall 2007. In that time, he has worked closely with both the film and theater arts departments.

“My first semester, I just went into the theater shop and asked, ‘Can I start working? I’ll do anything on the show,’” he said. “I’ve been there ever since.”

Rivera has been praised for his entrepreneurship on the project.

“We really haven’t had somebody who sort of straddled both departments the way Tayler does,” said Katie Laris, co-chair of the theater arts department. “He was really the perfect person to sort of make the marriage happen between the [three] departments.”

Rivera plans to expand to UCSB and Brooks Institute, as well as create a website for the agency.

He envisions adding different kinds of artists, such as directors, musicians, and photographers to the agency. They will be able to produce resumes and display examples of their work online.

“I’d like to see kind of a combination of Facebook and Monster,” said Rivera.

Rivera wants to start working on the agency’s move online by the middle of the semester or this summer. This will be another workload for him.

“That’s a whole demon of its own,” he said.