Peeping Tom Theatre is a satirical
look at theatre acting and ambition. John is an idealistic graduate
of a mid-western theatre program who moves to Seattle to become
a part of the "hot" theatre scene. Initially discouraged
by his failure to get cast he strikes up an unlikely friendship
with Melissa and they begin performing short skits from the window
of his courtyard apartment.
Production Notes
This film began as a brilliant short story by John Kaufmann that
appeared in the Seattle Weekly. Some friends of Gerald had clipped
the article out of the paper and gave 
it
to him to read because they thought he would love the humor. They
were right! Nearly a year later Gerald thought of the story again
and realized that the short story would make a great short film.
John Kaufmann adapted his own short story and became a screenwriter
for the first time.
The casting for the lead role of John was crucial. Luckily the production found the brilliant Craig Welzbacher, who was able to achieve the almost cartoonish characterization that the role demanded. Sara Carmer was cast as Melissa, the "straight woman", to Craig, providing a needed anchor.
The production was an enormous undertaking involving a large cast, a crowd scene, an entire apartment building, police, and several locations.
Once the shooting done next came the arduous task of finding
the money to finish the film. Luckily Gerald Donahoe received
a Special Projects grant from the King County Arts Commission,
that he used to help finance the completion of the film.