Alexandra Guyker rehearses one of her roles in the play "Almost, Maine" at Rockville Little Theatre. COURTESY PHOTO  Sabine is a woman at an exciting point in her current relationship when she bumps into her ex at a bar. The meeting provokes a juggling act between past feelings and guilt, and the ways people deal with moving on.

Gayle has been in an 11-year relationship that’s apparently going nowhere. She finally brings it all to her boyfriend’s door, literally.

After many years away from her high-school sweetheart, Hope is looking to find her place in the world – with him.

These are some of the various characters in John Carian’s oft-performed play “Almost, Maine,” now on stage at Rockville Little Theatre. The play comprises nine two-character short plays that explore love and loss in the titular, mythical town.

Alexandra Guyker portrays Sabine, Gayle and Hope.

“All three characters have experiences I myself have dealt with, so it is easy to connect to each one when I look back on those times in my life,” Guyker said. “Because they’re different people, it’s important I take some time before each scene and really think about where I was before. But I rely on the author’s words to show the differences in their thought processes, pace, and emotions.”

Cartoonist Keith Knight showcases collections of his work for attendees at the 2017 Small Press Expo at the Marriott Conference Center in North Bethesda. COURTESY PHOTO  The Small Press Expo returned to the Marriott Conference Center in North Bethesda, on Sept. 16 and 17. SPX, as it is known, is a 501©(3) nonprofit founded in 1994 to promote artists and publishers who produce independent comics. The annual event attracts hundreds of cartoonists, publishers and large crowds.

This year, the Expo’s roster of special guests included: Canadian illustrator and cartoonist Jillian Tamaki, who provided art for the graphic novels “Skim,” and “This One Summer:” Gilbert Hernandez, who is best known for his Palomar/Heartbreak Soup stories in the alternative comic book series “Love & Rockets,” which he shares with brothers Jaime and Mario; Finnish cartoonist Tommi Musturi, creator of “The Book of Hope;” and Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes, whose work appears in various newspapers across the country such as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and international newspapers like Le Monde while animated editorial cartoons are regularly featured on The Washington Post’s website.

Previous expos have featured cartooning legends such as Roz Chast of The New Yorker, and the iconic Jules Feiffer as well as relative newcomers like Congressman John Lewis, who appeared last year to promote his three-part graphic novel series called “The March.”