A famous acting star's desire to write an autobiography is the central event in Luminaria, the world-premiere comedy by Emilio Carballido, opening Sept. 23 in a Spanish-language staging by Repertorio Espanol in New York City.

Previews began Sept. 21 with Spanish TV soap opera star Lupita Ferrer (of TV's "Cristal") as the celeb. Ferrer's soap is seen in dozens of countries, and she's appeared in Balboa with Tony Curtis, Los Hijos Des Sanchez with Anthony Quinn and Quentin Tarantino's Curdled, with Billy Baldwin.

Revolving around the title star (the luminary) are Ivan Espeche and Lucio Fernandez.

Repertorio artistic director Rene Buch directs the comedy by the author of the Rep hit, Te Juro, Juana, Que Tengo Ganas (I Swear to You, Jane, I Have an Itch For You). Repertorio Espanol's home is at the Gramercy Arts Theatre, 138 E. 27th Street. Performances in Spanish (with simultaneous English translation) continue in repertory to Nov. 28.

For information, call (212) 889-2850. Repertorio Espanol, the New York City-based Spanish language theatre company, is receiving some insurance for a healthy tomorrow: The Ford Foundation has awarded the group $ 1 million to create an endowment fund which will support future development of the company.

The grant is delivered in a lump sum and will be used to "challenge" individual donors to increase their support of the company's artistic programs and attract new support for the country's leading Spanish theatre. Interest will go to support a professional fundraiser, who will seek out individuals and others for contributions.

The nonprofit troupe, run by executive producer Gilberto Zaldivar and artistic director Buch, presents a mix of revivals, recent plays and world premieres, all in Spanish (with simultaneous English translations) and all in repertory.

The troupe's website is at www.repertorio.org.

-- By Kenneth Jones