BARB WABUNG “What do you mean you can’t? You owe it to her.” 

JANICE WIRTH “Barb please...” 

BARB WABUNG “Last March when she sent you a birthday card, your polite little thank you card said it all to her.” 

JANICE WIRTH “I was leaving on a business trip. I didn't have time.... 

BARB WABUNG “Neither did Mom. “ 

JANICE WIRTH I don't like that attitude. Quit making me out to be a villain. I'm not. 

BARB WABUNG Are you going to open the present or not? 

JANICE WIRTH In a minute. 

BARB WABUNG "In a minute!?" Your first present from your birth mother and you say, "in a minute?!" 

JANICE starts to cry, slowly she lays her head down on the table and passes out.

TONTO “Why should she? Wasn't your fault.”

RODNEY “He was coming to pick me up at the bar. I phoned him, remember? He wouldn't have been on that road if it hadn't been for me.”

(pause) Yes I do. The physical pain will go away. The emotional pain will take longer. If at all. I'm sorry I left the way I did. It must have been a horrible Christmas for you. But you must understand I didn't walk out on you. I walked out on me. To everybody I was Grace, but to me I'm Janice. I don't know if I can ever be the Grace you wanted, or the Grace Barb wants. I don't know anything any more. I'm hungover. I've met Amelia Earhart. And I'm standing at your grave, a woman I barely got to know. What a town this Otter Lake of yours. I guess the reason I'm here is to seek forgiveness for the bad thoughts I had, about you. I couldn't help it. I needed a reason, some excuse for what happened to me, what I went through. You were all I had. Growing up in the home I did, looking the way I do, the schools I went to, the jokes I heard. I had to blame

somebody. I feel so ashamed. You were so kind to me, so nice. And all I wanted was evidence, proof to justify my anger. And there you were, so sweet and accepting. My whole life fell away. Everything I had wanted to believe was gone because of you. That made me even more angry. I hate myself now. I'm tired of being angry. I'm tired of mistrusting you. I'm tired of everything. I just don't want to fight it any more. I'm sorry. You deserve better.

This scene is connected to characterization, it shows how Barb still holds resentment against Janice not only for running away but also for how she had to keep their family together after her father, Paul, died in a car accident.

Janice not feeling comfortable being called "Grace" is characterization. We learn that the reason for Janice not liking the name "Grace" is because she was never called by it growing up.

Janice feeling as if she never belonged in Otter Lake is a major theme in Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth because multiple issues stem from Janice feeling different than the others at Otter Lake. The main problem that started from this event was Janice running away from her biological family on Christmas Eve.

Barb and Janice visiting the grave of their mother is a plot development and characterization for both Janice and Barb. For Barb, she begins to cope with the death of her mother and she realizes that she can not blame the death of her mother on Janice because she had run away from Otter Lake on Christmas Eve. For Janice, this scene shows how much she has grown as a person since the beginning of the play, at the beginning she did not want to even return to Otter Lake, but by the end of the play, she is apologizing to her dead mother for not being there for her on Christmas. This scene is plot development because Janice apologizing to her mother shows how she resolved the problems between not only her mother but Barb also.

Janice opening Anne's birthday present, a dreamcatcher is characterization. Janice regrets having left Barb and her biological family on Christmas Eve because she was scared that she did not fit in at Otter Lake and how she felt so different from Barb.

Barb attempting to bring Janice home with her to Otter Lake to get Janice to see their mother's grave is not only plot development, but the scene also shows the setting of where the play is taking place. We find out that Janice lives in Toronto when she asks Barb "Do you come to Toronto often?". We also find out where Barb wants to take Janice when Barb mentions how different Otter Lake is from Toronto. This scene is plot development because the action of Barb convincing Janice to return to Otter Lake begins their story, and you can start to see Barb and Janice's issues surrounding their mother, Anne.

This scene shows the characterization of Janice and Barb. It shows how Janice truly tries to be there for her sister, and how she cares for her mother, even though she still feels a major disconnect between her old family, due to her having grown up with them. For Barb, her not being able to enter Anne's room shows how she is still grieving the death of her mother; but she is trying to move on.

Barb and Janice arguing about their mother's death is characterization and plot development. For Barb, we learn about the root of her issues with her sister; how Barb blames her for the death of her mother because Janice left on Christmas Eve, how Barb hated Janice before she had ran away because her mom would realize Janice was not the daughter she wanted. This scene is also plot development because when Janice punches Barb in the face is the climax of the play.

This apology is characterization for both Janice and Barb, while Barb realizes that Janice was not the reason for Anne's death, and Janice regrets running away on Christmas Eve.

Rodney revealing the fact that he blames himself for the car crash that killed Paul, Barb's father, to Tonto is a characterization of Rodney. He shows remorse for Paul's death and feels as if he needs to make it up to Barb, so he helps Barb get her sister back in any way that he can.