FIRST OFF . . .

A former Teamster who quit driving a truck to write plays and a young Latino playwright who created a personally charged portrait of his neighborhood corner at Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue shared top prizes Saturday night at the finals of the Inner City Cultural Center Short Play Competition. Retired trucker Ernest L. Fann, for his drama, “William Five,” and performance artist Luis Alfaro, for “True Stories From the Corner of Pico and Union,” each won six-week writing internships--Fann at Universal Television and Alfaro at Warner Bros. Television. The plays will be published by the center and receive fully mounted production there next year. The gala evening, held at the center’s downtown Los Angeles building, also included special awards to Mayor Tom Bradley, actress Marguerite Ray, and producer-actors Tim Reid and Mako for their commitment to cultural diversity. The awards are in memory of the center’s former administrative chief, Elaine Kashiki.