You鈥檝e probably practised reverie sometime in your life, but never taken it to the extreme as in the new NBC summer series aptly called Reverie, starring Sarah Shahi.
For most, reverie is the simple act of daydreaming, getting lost in your thoughts. The series notches that up by allowing individuals to enter into an advanced immersive virtual-reality program in which they can live out their wildest dreams or fondest memory. When those dreams become so addictive the subject refuses to leave the dream state, it is up to Mara Kint (Shahi), a former hostage negotiator and expert on human behaviour, to join the dream state in an attempt to coax the person back to reality before the results are disastrous.
Shahi knows exactly what memory she would live if Reverie were real. The series came to her a few months after her father had died. Shahi didn鈥檛 have much of a relationship with him when she was younger, as he was a drug addict and abusive. She and her mother were in and out of women鈥檚 shelters while she was growing up.
鈥淲hen he died, it really threw me back,鈥� Shahi says. 鈥淚t took me by surprise at the amount of grief I felt. Then I started talking to him, seeing him and feeling him around me. I became convinced that there was so much more to this world than our eyes can see.
鈥淚f there was a moment I could pick. I have a very vivid memory of being two or three years old and being at the lake with my mom and dad. I was in between his legs like a cat. I remember the song that was on, the way the wind was blowing through my hair. I remember the smell in the air. I remember feeling so secure and there was nothing better to me. If I could go back and revisit that time for a moment, I would.鈥�
Sashi knew from the age of six, watching TV programs with her mom at a shelter, that she would one day be an actor. The escape she would get through the TV shows was something she wanted to give others when she got older. The moment Shahi got the script for Reverie, she knew this was a big way for her to accomplish the task she set for herself all those years ago.
Even working on Reverie has created a special memory for Shahi. She recalls visiting Universal Studios Hollywood when she was a child and thinking that one day she needed to work on a series or film at the studio. But, she never had a chance to work on any productions there until Reverie came along.
鈥淚 had this moment where my eyes welled up with tears and my heart exploded because working on the show was everything I had ever wanted,鈥� Shahi says. 鈥淚t was my dream come true.鈥�
Since making the leap into acting at the urging of Robert Altman, when the director was filming in Texas while she was attending Southern Methodist University and was a member of the NFL鈥檚 Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Shahi has worked in a variety of different roles. The Texas native recently was a series regular on Person of Interest, plus she鈥檚 appeared in the TV series The L Word, Fairly Legal, Pitch, Chicago Fire, Life, Reba, The Sopranos, Ray Donovan, Alias and Teachers. Her feature film roles include Bullet to the Head, Divine Access, The Trouble with Bliss, Shades of Ray, Crossing Over, I Don鈥檛 Know How She Does It, Old School and Hangman.
None of those parts pushed her imagination to the extremes of working on Reverie. Each week, her character enters a new world that can be stunningly beautiful or painfully frightening.
鈥淚 have been describing this show as Alice in Wonderland meets Deception. A lot of the show feels like Alice falling down the rabbit hole because she never knows where she鈥檚 going to end up,鈥� Shahi says. 鈥淓very episode of this show is its own ride.
鈥淵ou just never know where it is going to take you.鈥�
In the series opener, Kint joins the dream of a man who keeps reliving a moment associated with his marriage proposal. What appears to be a very sweet and special memory is hiding a darker element Kint uncovers.
The story is the first of 10 episodes in the summer series. Shahi is happy Reverie is starting now rather than in the fall because it will have a better chance at snagging an audience when there is less competition.
