10 minute read
Scene: Mondays Dark brings in big names for its virtual telethon
MARATHON TELETHON
MONDAYS DARK BRINGS IN BIG ENTERTAINMENT NAMES FOR A SIX-HOUR APRIL EDITION
SCENE
MONDAYS DARK STREAMING TELETHON
April 27, 5-11 p.m., mondaysdark.com.
By Lesl ie Ventura
hen the COVID-19 pandemic hit Las Vegas in March, Mark Shunock vowed to keep the lights on for his monthly charity event, Mondays Dark. He’d have to change a few things, of course, pivoting from his typically sold-out, 300-seat shows at his venue the Space to a streaming event, but March’s show went on, and Shunock raised $10,000 for the local nonprofit Refuge for Women.
On April 27, the online Mondays Dark returns with an ever biggest version: a six-hour virtual telethon benefiting a national nonprofit dear to Shunock’s heart, the Actors Fund.
“When this all happened, my social media was being inundated with friends who are in the entertainment business, who are out of work and having trouble getting help,” Shunock says. “I was aware of the Actors Fund when I was in New York and LA. They help everyone from crew members to wardrobe, dancers and musicians. If you work in the entertainment business, they help you.”
Though Mondays Dark normally partners with a local charity, Shunock saw this as an opportunity for the Actors Fund to establish a Las Vegas presence while also helping local performers who have been laid off during the coronavirus shutdown. “Mondays Dark helps all these amazing charities, and it’s because of all the entertainers that Mondays Dark is where it is today—because of all the entertainers that have donated their talents,” Shunock says. Now, he’s hoping to “return the favor after all these years” and “make the Actors Fund a household name for the entertainment community.”
For the telethon—set to run from 5 to 11 p.m.—Shunock has recruited 50 performers and celebrities, including Shania Twain, Brad Garrett, Olivia Newton-John, Bar Rescue’s Jon Taffer, Wayne Newton, Joey Fatone, Clint Holmes, members of Cirque du Soleil and more. Shunock says he had no choice but to go big. “We’ve done over 100 90-minute to 200-minute variety shows. This one is going to be much longer, but we’re going to try to stick to the same format … and if I can channel my inner Jerry Lewis to stay awake, then I will,” he says, laughing. “I’m optimistic that over the course of those six hours we will see a great viewership, and they’ll click the link and make a donation. The key is to just support the Actors Fund and support the local entertainment community.”
Free to stream, this telethon edition of Mondays Dark will provide viewers with the opportunity to donate online, by phone or by text. “I’m just hoping everyone turns on their smartphones and computers and tunes in,” he says. “It’s about raising awareness for this organization and really honoring the work that entertainers do in the city to make it go. We take the shows for granted sometimes, but they’re a big reason why 50 million people come to Vegas every year.”
For more information and to livestream the event on April 27, visit mondaysdark.com. W
Noise
Chill vibes
Las Vegas musici an Beverly Chillz finds new ways to cre ate duri ng the shutdown
By Lesl ie Ventura
everly Chillz’s 30th birthday was anything but normal. Rather than let the pandemic get in the way of his celebration, the artist threw a virtual party on Instagram live, featuring a performance from inside an undisclosed studio. The only other person there was Chillz’s cameraman.
Chillz, who doesn’t disclose his real name, says he’s gotten used to overcoming obstacles by this point. “Life up until now has prepared me. I kinda feel like that I’ve died a thou- sand times.”
He calls learning to create in this new era of isolation “almost fun for me. It’s an opportunity to be creative and, artistically, it’s another medium.”
Chillz grew up in Las Vegas but moved around—to Utah and Louisiana and California. He received a degree in musical the- ater and returned to Las Vegas in 2016, but says, “It was kind of a whirlwind. I was a recovering sex and drug addict, and I also had just found out I was HIVpositive. I was strung out.”
The artist turned to music, performing at open mics as an outlet, first at the Jam inside Ninja Karaoke and then at the Bunkhouse’s singer-songwriter sessions. “I’m a storyteller before I’m a performer or artist,” he says. “It’s a creation of an aes- thetic and a mood and a feeling.”
Chillz’s voice and lyrical pac- ing might draw comparisons to artists like The Weeknd, but his cinematic delivery—often ac- companied only by an acoustic guitar player—sets him apart.
“What influences my music is a lack of love that I was will- ing to give myself before, and the love that I’ve found now,” he says. “That’s what drives me. Most of my music is kind of searching for love or un- derstanding the lack thereof, and where I went wrong. I think the biggest inspira- tion is learning to love myself.”
Thus far, Chillz has only put out live recordings on Sound- cloud and YouTube. The day before the state closed all nonessential businesses, Chillz livestreamed a perfor- mance from inside a penthouse at the Bellagio, a collaboration with streaming project Un- earthed Music. “It was like the last hurrah,” he says. Chillz didn’t know then that livestreaming would become his primary source of connection, but he has embraced it as a way to explore his creativity during the pandemic. “I find myself creating things that will be safe and healthy for us, that still pushes the boundary of art,” he says. “That’s what I’ve been working on creating—different ways to tell my story.” BEVERLY CHILLZ instagram.com/ beverly.chillz soundcloud.com/ beverlychillz bit.ly/2VDV7j2 B
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THE MOTHERLODE
MASTER THESE FIVE SAUCES, AND YOU’LL BE ON YOUR WAY TO CULINARY EXCELLENCE
BY GENEVIE DURANO
ou’ve been cooking at home for a few weeks now and hopefully gaining more con- dence in creating dishes that fall outside your normal repertoire. Now it’s time to add some fancy to your meals by learning the ve “mother sauces.”
O cially classi ed in the early 1800s by French chef Marie-Antoine Carême— one of the rst internationally renowned celebrity chefs—the mother sauces are considered to be the foundation for almost every other sauce that has come since. Mastering them is an essential kitchen skill.
With just three techniques—making a roux, which is basically cooking our in fat to make a paste used as a thickener; emulsi cation, where you use a binder (like an egg yolk) to bring together water and oil; and reduction, or cooking down liquid until it’s thickened—you’ll be whipping up tasty sauces in no time, and taking your cooking to the next level. Y
BÉCHAMEL This white sauce is the easiest to make and the most versatile of the sauces. It’s basically just a white roux with milk or cream added to it. Used as is or as a foundation for other sauces, it lends dishes a creamy richness that’s indulgent and comforting at the same time. Take it up a notch: Add Gruyère or Parmesan to make Mornay sauce; add mustard to make mustard sauce; add cheddar cheese, mustard powder and Worcestershire sauce to make a cheese sauce. Use it to make: Kicked-up mac and cheese, lasagna, casseroles, croque madame. 1
ESPAGNOLE This brown sauce starts with mirepoix (carrots, celery and onions), beef stock and deglazed brown bits from beef bones. Making it properly is time-consuming, with lots of skimming and reduction, but you end up with a rich and intense sauce. Like velouté, it’s a fi nishing sauce that serves as the base for other sauces. Take it up a notch: Combine with more beef stock or veal stock to make a demi-glace, a rich French brown sauce; or create a Bordelaise sauce by adding red wine, shallots and herbs to the demi-glace. Use it to make: Boeuf Bourguignon, mushroom risotto or as a sauce for steak. 3
VELOUTÉ Velouté, like béchamel, starts out with a white roux but turns more blond depending what you add to it—either veal, chicken, fi sh or vegetable stock. Unlike béchamel, it’s not a fi nished sauce but a base for others, including gravies and mushroom sauces. Take it up a notch: Add veal stock to make allemande sauce, chicken stock for suprême sauce and fi sh stock for vin blanc sauce. Use it to make: Gravy to smother on biscuits and Swedish meatballs. 2
TOMATO The most familiar of the sauces, tomato sauce is simply a mixture of onions, garlic and tomatoes. You can make it with roux or use a reduction technique to build deeper fl avor and thickness. Take it up a notch: Simmer with butter, onion and herbs for a simple marinara sauce, or add cream, yogurt and spices for an Indianbased fl avor. Use it to make: Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce and chicken tikka masala. 4
FOOD & DRINK
HOLLANDAISE Made with egg yolks, clarifi ed butter and lemon, this sauce is not for the faint of heart, but those who persevere are rewarded with a rich and decadent topping for just about anything, from proteins to vegetables. Making Hollandaise uses emulsifi cation, with an egg yolk as the binding agent. Patience and proper technique are required, so the eggs do not curdle. Take it up a notch: Instead of lemon juice, make a Béarnaise sauce by using white wine vinegar. Add shallots and tarragon. Or make a mousseline by adding unsweetened whipped cream. Use it to make: Eggs Benedict, sauce over pan-seared fi sh or a dipping sauce for crab cakes. 5
