FringeNYC is a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It takes place over the course of two weeks every August, spread on more than 20 stages across several neighborhoods in downtown Manhattan. Attendance in 2009 topped 75,000 people. Unlike most Fringe festivals, FringeNYC uses a jury-based selection process. Around 200 shows, out of a much larger pool of applicants, are selected for inclusion each year. FringeNYC has also been the launching pad for numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway transfers, long-running downtown hits, and regional theater productions including Urinetown, Dog Sees God, Debbie Does Dallas, Matt & Ben, Never Swim Alone, and many others! FringeNYC alumni include Bradley Cooper, Melissa Rauch (Big Bang Theory), Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me, CNN’s Inside Man), Mindy Kaling, Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Pippin), Alex Timbers (Rocky), Leigh Silverman (Violet), W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty), Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story) and Chris Lowell (Enlisted), among countless other success stories.