A one-time pre-med student, Xavier took her first theater class Playwriting 1 at the end of her sophomore year. According to Xavier, the class helped her to settle on theater as her major. Now, with a blooming writing career, Xavier has put medical school on hold, but does not discount it as a possibility in the future.
"Until I love the idea of being a doctor more than I love the idea of being a writer however long that might take or if that ever were to happen until that happens, I'm going to stick to writing," she said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Xavier said she is glad to have had the experience taking pre-med classes, however.
"The training and time management aspect of pre-med, and all the interesting things I learned, have contributed to who I am, so I definitely don't regret it for a second," she said.
According to Xavier, her concentration area is playwriting, particularly the creation of "socially conscious plays" a focus that lends itself well to a being modified with government.
"I'm a firm believer that stories should affect people and help people and be more than just words on the page," Xavier said.
To that effect, her plays have dealt with a wide range of social issues, from child abuse to marriage and, in the play she is currently writing for her culminating experience, sexual violence and abuse, Xavier said. While her topics may seem taboo, Xavier treats them with honesty and tact.
"I've led an interesting life and I've seen a lot of things, I've seen a lot of terrible things, I've seen a lot of wonderful things, and everything I write is true to who I am and what I've seen," she said.
This careful and conscious approach has served her well thus far, as she has won the Ruth and Loring Dodd Drama Prize twice, for "Fold the Close" in 2009 and "Sit-in" in this year's contest. According to Xavier, "Sit-in" will be staged at the beginning of August in the Bentley Theater as part of the College's Frost-Dodd Playwriting Festival.
"Fold the Close" debuted during the Frost-Dodd Playwriting Festival in June 2009. Xavier had the unique opportunity to be the first winner to design her own set, staying on campus during the Spring of her junior year to see it through the production process, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Xavier described the success of "Fold the Close" as somewhat of a whirlwind, explaining that after it was staged in June 2009, the play spoke for itself and took off on a path of its own.
"Before you know it, people are putting me in touch with producers and producers are putting me in touch with other producers," she said.
Xavier submitted the play to Incoming Tide Entertainment and received an offer "within the month," she said, leading to the production in New Rochelle.
Although her success is due in large part to her strong work ethic Xavier said she makes a point of writing every day she described her contribution with humility.
"Everything I've accomplished thus far has been due to the contributions of the people I've worked with just as much as my own hard work," she said. "This isn't the kind of business or industry where you get anywhere by yourself."
Xavier described her writing process as a transcription of ideas she has already developed in her mind, adding that most of the legwork is done before she even sits down to write. Although Xavier emphasized the positive life experience she has gained, she acknowledged both the drawbacks of her level of dedication in addition to the advantages.
"Sometimes I feel like no one sees the world exactly the way I do, which can feel really reassuring at times, but other times it can feel really alienating," she said, adding that her career goals keep her going.
Xavier said she looks forward to the next step of her career. Xavier is currently weighing offers in New York that would allow her to maintain contacts she has there, she said, although she may put them off until the fall to stay on campus and see the development of her second Frost-Dodd Festival premier this Summer.
Within five years she hopes to have started a production company with Eric Schwager '10, a film studies major. Together, they intend to produce a screenplay project Xavier also wrote. Although Xavier said that "there has been interest" in her screenplay, she has not pursued any offers.
"I'm keeping it [for] myself and our production company," she said.
