Westlake High student to star in upcoming 'Scooby Doo'film

IN THE SPOTLIGHT- Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft of Westlake Village takes the stage front and centerShe will play the role of Velma in the new "Scooby Doo" movie. Hayley also sings in local clubs. Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft is leaving Westlake Village this summer for a jaunt to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada to star as Velma in the new "Scooby Doo" movie. The 17-year-old is excited about playing Velma, a character she relates to for her energy and her analytical skills.

"I think her brain moves a little faster than her mouth and body," said Hayley, an Agoura High School senior. "I'm always moving and always analyzing things. I can never fall asleep to music because I analyze it, break down the tracks, decide what I like and don't like."

The Warner Premiere/Cartoon Network film takes place when the characters first met in high school. Hayley describes the movie as being an updated version of the previous Scooby Doo films. Fred will no longer be blond, but Velma will still have "grandma glasses."

"The script is great," Hayley said. "It's a fun first role for me."

This is not Hayley's first acting stint. She has appeared in national commercials, including GM Onstar, Slim Jim and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and in sitcoms such as Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous."

A songwriter, Hayley is in two bands and plays drums, guitar, bass and keyboards.

She was chosen, through a nationwide search, for The Stunners, a Sony/Columbia Records fivegirl group formed by musician Colleen Fitzpatrick, also known as Vitamin C. Their first single, "Let's Hear it for the Boy," is available on iTunes on the iCarly soundtrack. Hayley performs at area clubs under the name Hayley Kiyoko, and her original music can be heard at myspace.com/dollylamahka.

Hayley formed her band, Hede, in November to showcase the songs she has written. She brought together fellow student musicians from Agoura and Calabasas high schools. A month after getting together, the group performed Hayley's music in the Agoura High School Battle of the Bands and won. The band is named for her Japanese grandfather.

"My grandpa is my hero, my inspiration. He's a very hardworking man, very intelligent. He gives me so much advice and support for my endeavors," Hayley said. "It took him awhile to understand about the band name- he thinks it's funny."

People compare her music to musicians Fiona Apple and Coldplay, Hayley said.

"I have my own flavor," Hayley said. "It sort of comes to me. I could be walking to Baskin-Robbins, and I will think of a melody and will record it on my phone."

When not acting or singing, Hayley dances. She studies hiphop, and her team placed third at the dance nationals in 2005.

Finding the time to audition, act, rehearse, dance, write music, do homework, and maintain a 4.0 grade-point average is not easy. Her mom coaches her in time management and organization.

"I'm not superwoman. I've definitely had those breaking moments, but I'm very focused," Hayley said.

When her parents asked her what she wanted for Christmas the year she was 12, Hayley surprised them by answering, "An agent."

"She said, 'I've been watching these kids on TV, and I can do this stuff," her father, Jamie Alcroft, said. "Hayley just got the bug."

Hayley has show-business roots. Her mother, Sarah Kawahara, is an Emmy-winning ice skating choreographer. She worked with Scott Hamilton during his professional career and on the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City. She is currently choreographing the new "Disney on Ice" show.

Hayley's father is half of the comedy team known as Mack and Jamie that has appeared on The Tonight Show several times.

The family, which includes Hayley's siblings- Alysse, 21, and Thatcher, 14- moved to Westlake from West Los Angeles in 1997. The move was inspired after they'd had lunch at The Landing.

"When we saw First Neighborhood and how the greenbelts connect to the schools, I said 'This is where we have to live.'" Jamie Alcroft said. "We love the community, the people, the school system."

Alcroft describes Hayley by her middle name, Kiyoko, which means gentle girl.

"She's driven, but she's gentle," Alcroft said.

Hayley is still figuring out which of her many interests to concentrate on. She plans to apply to colleges in California this fall but says her life is moving so fast she has no idea where she'll be in six months.

"I want to be a successful entertainer, hopefully songwriting and music, but if the movie goes well and I end up booking more movies, that will be great. I'll take the opportunities as they come," Hayley said. "I love what I do."