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ONLY THE LONELY
Pulp Kelly Delaney September 4, 2003 Waking up to a gray and rainy morning in Pittsburgh can be depressing. What can be even more depressing is facing that gray and rainy morning in Pittsburgh alone—no mate to cuddle, no one to share your popcorn at the movie matinee, no one to share your umbrella. Woe is Pittsburgh. Well, that is how Forbes magazine sees our fair city and it is an image that Joe Giacobello of Moon Township is hoping to dispel. This past June, Forbes writer Davide Dukcevich placed Pittsburgh at the bottom of its annual list of the best American cities for single living. Dukcevich cited our “abysmal” job growth, youth flight and our small artist and singles populations as the main reasons for our ranking. This was the second year in a row that Pittsburgh received the distinction and the news has not been sitting well with some residents. Dukcevich received more than a few angry letters and e-mails, some reportedly threatening bodily harm. Certainly our angst-ridden reaction did not improve our reputation at Forbes. Giacobello has decided to take matters into his own hands. “I heard about the hate mail and thought that there might be a completely different way to react,” he says. “Pittsburgh can show America that we have a sense of humor.” This Saturday, September 6 at the South Side's Rex Theatre, Giacobello will be hosting the Loneliest Single Guy and Gal in America Contest, a tongue-in-cheek response to a sensitive topic. Giacobello, a technical writer and entertainment aficionado, was inspired by the reality TV shows that are currently proliferating in the mainstream media. “The reality contests are all based on who's the best. They basically come down to a popularity contest,” says Giacobello, himself a bachelor. “I thought it would be interesting to do the opposite, to compete to see who is the loneliest.” The contestants are being drawn from the short essays that they submit stating why they think they are the loneliest person in Pittsburgh. Five men and five women will compete for the grand prize of a dinner cruise on the Gateway Clipper Fleet. The actual contest will include a talent portion and a game show segment where contestants will answer trivia questions dealing with loneliness themes in music and movies. A swimwear contest was originally planned but was scrapped after several contestants objected. The evening's entertainment will be provided by several local acts, including comedians Tonnochi B., Dr. Awkward and Gab Bonesso, musician Jay Hitt and band Shade. Giacobello has been a fixture of Pittsburgh's entertainment scene for some time. Growing up in a large Italian-Polish-American family in Erie, Pennsylvania, he got his start in the community theater. “I always took the funny parts,” he says. While a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Giacobello represented his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, in the Mr. IUP Pageant. There, in front of an auditorium packed with his fellow students, Giacobello found himself competing against men who spent a great deal of time in the gym. “I wasn't the big muscle guy, but everyone still respected me because I still flexed in swimming trunks and had fun,” says Giacobello. He gives partial credit to that experience for the idea of the contest. After he moved to Pittsburgh, Giacobello began testing the waters of amateur standup comedy. He has produced his own television sitcom, Mr. G, on PCTV and has written a screenplay for a romantic comedy. The film is currently in pre-production and Giacobello hopes to bring it to life in the next year. In addition to the no-go on the swimwear competition, Giacobello's contest has met with other criticism. “When I first started telling people about the contest, I got some mixed reactions,” says Giacobello. “A lot of people misunderstood me and thought that I was being serious, that I was going to make fun of lonely people.” Trying to get some national publicity for the contest, Giacobello wrote to the David Letterman show telling them about his idea. “They wrote back to me and said that they thought that it was a mean-spirited thing to do. I was surprised, since Letterman got his start by being kind of mean-spirited.” Giacobello wants everyone to know that the contest is in no way an arena for him to make fun of genuinely lonely people. “I consider myself the loneliest guy in Pittsburgh,” he says. “I'll be too busy making fun of myself to make fun of anyone else.” All of the proceeds will benefit the Children's Institute. Giacobello has extended the deadline for entry until Saturday in the hopes that more people will be encouraged to enter. Entry guidelines can be found at Giacobello's Web site, www.bellofilms.com. Doors open at 7 p.m. Call 412.381.6811 for more information. “I expect kooks of all ages to enter,” he says. “I want crazy, zany people who like to have fun.” |