This master's research in progress aims to investigate the career of Orlando Miranda de Carvalho, a theatre man who is an important character to understand the cultural scene - brazilian in general and, especially, from Rio de Janeiro - between the 1960s and the 1980s, having worked all his life behind the curtains. Owner of Princesa Isabel theatre since 1965 and director of the National Theater Service from 1974 to 1985, he made important contributions to the implementation of public measures at the performing arts during the military dictatorship, contributing with a legacy for the national memory, such as, for example, the return of the National Dramaturgy Contest and the purchase of Paschoal Carlos Magno's house, which hosts the Duse Theater. The work´s will try to bring some light to the ambiguity of a man who moved between the artistic class and a military government in a time strongly marked by censorship of the arts in Brazil. For that, it will be based on oral history, document analysis and bibliographic review. So far, five hours have been conducted with Orlando Miranda, now 90 years old and fully active. These interviews are privileged sources since Miranda's most relevant role in the cultural scene occurred more than three decades ago and there are few catalogued records of it. Besides the fact that his statements are a primary source, it is important to highlight his role as public manager during the dictatorial period. Although there are sources about this period, most of the theses and essays focus on the dictatorial regime's undeniable restrictions on the field of the arts. In this sense, Orlando Miranda's testimonies can enrich the view of that time, since he moved between the creative environment of artistic creation and the bureaucratic space of public administration. In the future they may contribute to a discussion about cultural policies in the period and their relations with power.